Ancient games and toys in Abruzzo.

Playing has always been a very important activity for the healthy development of children.
But… have you ever wondered what the games and the toys of yore were and how our ancestors used to spend their spare time and have fun as children?
Of course, it’s something very different from the technological toys that we give to our children today.

In the past, human relationships were far more important and children used to play in the streets.
They probably were also more creative, because they had to build their toys by themselves.
To do so, they used different materials and objects: sticks, stones, shells, cloth, sewing threads, iron wires, ropes, rubber bands, corks, boxes, cans and so on.

It seems that balls and dolls are the most ancient toys, but also spinning tops, pins, bows and some board games were rather widespread. Parenthetically, you can find some of them in our Cantinone, where you can have fun with your family or friends and taste local products.

But let’s get back to the past. The most “social” games were not so different from those that we played as children: blind man’s buff, hide-and-seek, tag, capture the flag…

There was also a game called “fossetta” (which means “small pit”), a sort of game of marbles in which walnuts were used instead.

Moreover, just like today, many games consisted in imitating crafts, jobs and activities done by the adults, so children built miniature carts, wheelbarrows, work tools, rifles, cradles…

As regards the tradition of Abruzzo, there were many typical games, such as “santill”, in which some coins were arranged on a piece of brick positioned vertically: the players’ goal was to throw a piece of terracotta and try to win the highest number of coins by making them fall down.

As you can see, Abruzzo is always able to take us back in time and there are countless places charged with the magical atmosphere of yesteryear.
Come and visit us at Sextantio: you will experience all this!