Families planning a trip to Italy and looking for destinations beyond Rome, Florence, and Venice now have an unusual new resource: a children's book that turns a real medieval village into a storybook adventure. The illustrated book, "Simonetta, Ruggero and the Cherry Forest of Celleno," by Giulio Gargiullo, connects a fictional tale with the actual hilltop village of Celleno, located in the Lazio region about 90 minutes from Rome.
The book begins as a fairy tale but ends with a surprise for young readers: Celleno is real, and families can visit the places that inspired the story. On the final pages, a QR code links readers to aerial drone footage of the real village, allowing children to see Celleno's castle, landscape, and historic quarter before discovering them in person. For parents traveling in Italy with children, the concept turns sightseeing into part of the story. Children first explore the village through the adventures of Simonetta and Ruggero and then discover that the castle, medieval streets, and countryside they have been reading about actually exist.
Celleno sits in northern Lazio, in the province of Viterbo, making it an off-the-beaten-path trip from Rome for families interested in medieval villages, nature, and lesser-known places in Italy. Its abandoned historic quarter is known as "Il Borgo Fantasma" — the Ghost Village of Celleno. The village was previously included by The Telegraph among 25 Italian ghost towns and places described as frozen in time.
Much of what children encounter in the story is inspired by the real history and landscape of Celleno. Orsini Castle still overlooks the village. Before the Orsini family took ownership, Celleno belonged to the Gatti, a noble family based in nearby Viterbo that controlled the town for more than a century. Simonetta, the story's young heroine, is loosely inspired by a woman from the same family line. The book has received the official patronage of the Municipality of Celleno.
"I wanted children to enter Celleno through imagination and then discover that the place they have been dreaming about actually exists," Gargiullo said. "If a family reading the story decides to leave the usual tourist route for a day and discover the village together, the fairy tale has completed its journey." Gargiullo was named an honorary citizen of Celleno in 2024 in recognition of his efforts to promote the village internationally.
The connection between book and destination is also educational. The final pages introduce "Little Guardians of Nature," encouraging children to take simple actions such as leaving water for birds, caring for a plant, and picking up litter. The result combines children's literature, family travel, local history, nature, and digital technology, giving parents a way to introduce children to a destination before arriving in Italy — or inspire a future visit after reading the story.
For parents looking for a children's book about Italy for a family trip, "Simonetta, Ruggero and the Cherry Forest of Celleno" is available worldwide on Amazon in English and Italian editions, in print and Kindle formats.
Celleno is a medieval hill town in Lazio, around 90 minutes by car from Rome, surrounded by the countryside of Tuscia and within easy reach of Viterbo and Orvieto. Its atmospheric abandoned historic quarter, known as the Ghost Village, offers travelers an alternative to Italy's best-known tourist destinations. The area's history stretches far beyond the Middle Ages. Archaeological evidence points to Etruscan settlement from around the 7th century BC, when the area lay between the Etruscan centers of Volsinii, modern-day Orvieto, and Ferento. Rome took control of the territory in the 3rd century BC.
