This Lord of the Rings superfan lives as a Hobbit!

For decades, fans of The Lord of the Rings have dreamed of what it would be like living like a Hobbit in The Shire. How peaceful that would be…so long as you’re not interrupted by a party of 13 dwarves asking you to join them on a perilous adventure. For superfan Nicolas Gentile, imagining life as a Hobbit simply wasn’t enough, so he made it a reality!

Gentile, a 37-year-old Italian pastry chef, has big plans for a real-life Shire. Currently, he lives his life as a Hobbit, but his overall aim is to transform five acres of land in Abruzzo, Italy, into a full recreation of the Shire. But of course, it doesn’t come cheap.

Gentile has already received praise from multiple famous actors from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, including from Frodo Baggins himself, Elijah Wood, who praised the project in a video message:

"I hope this finds you happy, healthy and well. I went to your Instagram page and it is incredible what you are doing. I love the costumes, the individual set photos that you have done, in front of fires, smoking a pipe. It’s so beautiful. Well done! I can’t wait to watch your progress and I will follow you on Instagram. That is so amazing. If I’m ever in your neck of the woods, in your shire, I would love to visit.’"

Billy Boyd (Pippin) also weighed in. “I know a friend of Nicolas! It’s me, Pippin Took. Let’s help Nicolas build his own shire, which I think would be a wonderful thing!”

Gentile talked about his project to The Guardian. Unsurprisingly, he is a massive Tolkien geek, but he has a bigger message. “The earth today is threatened by pollution and the climate emergency, which are enemies as fearsome as Sauron,” he said. “We wanted to show that our land, like Tolkien’s Middle-earth, must be saved and protected.”

"Some think I am trying to escape from reality. Far from it. I am living my dream, my adventure. By purchasing that piece of land, I have removed it from a reality that I don’t like and am shaping it the way I want."

He and his friends have already had plenty of fun, even going on a Lord of the Rings-style adventure. This year, his fellowship, in full costume, trekked over 180 miles to Naples’ Mount Vesuvius to throw in a replica of the One Ring. Thankfully, they didn’t have to fend off Orcs or hide from Sauron in the process.

Take a look at Nicolas Gentile’s Hobbit hole!

Gentile has an Instagram page for his project,  MyHobbitLife, which has surpassed 100k followers. Have a look at some pictures of his Shire, and find yourself incredibly jealous:

Do we have a new winner of the “World’s Biggest Lord of the Rings Fan” award? Perhaps. although there are plenty of other superfans out there!

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