THE PIASTRE. If your toilet seat cover is made of wood, do not hesitate to subject it to a careful DNA analysis. In its family tree (it’s really the case to say) there could be none other than Pinocchio, as happened with the one in Riccardo Bargiacchi’s bathroom from Vastogiraldi, province of Isernia. Yes, because in the year celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Carlo Lorenzini, known as “Collodi,” the main theme of the fiftieth edition of the Italian and World Championship of Lies, held every year in the small village of Le Piastre, in the municipality of Pistoia, could only be Pinocchio. “The inspiration for the genealogy of my toilet seat cover,” said the winner, “came to me during a very special session. However, I never thought that a bathroom break would allow me to win such a coveted prize as the golden little lie.”
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And here is another fresh lie of the day because, after all, those who participate in this competition certainly do not want to just participate but, let’s be honest, deep down they desire victory like a child desires a chocolate ice cream. The silver little lie was awarded to Danilo Malerba from Catania, already the absolute winner in 2022, who made the audience smile with a lie about the voracity of the shark that turned the puppet into its lunch. Third place and the bronze little lie went to Alessandro Pisaneschi, also a long-time contestant who, with the story “Turchina the murderous fairy,” gave a risqué touch to an event that is perhaps quite restrained in content. However, shining in this golden anniversary edition with the public were the children, who delivered performances beyond expectations. The prize for originality in the presentation of the lie, named after journalist Giancarlo Zampini, went to little Giulio Magrini who, on stage, made a heartfelt appeal to know the identity of his father. Dora and Zeno Orlandini won the prize named after Luciano Corsini for the most traditional lie, while the prize for the most lying child overall, named after journalist Lucia Prioreschi and offered by Il Tirreno, went to Giuseppe Dolci. Presiding over the jury was a well-matched pair in radio entertainment, consisting of journalist Alessandro Milan and comedian Leonardo Manera who, with his gags from the TV show Zelig, certainly made the audience smile more than some of the lies. Yes, because faced with many lying stories that perhaps went on too long, to keep the afternoon flowing well it was necessary not only the comic verve of Manera but also the professionalism of Fausto Livi and Ilaria Belli, presenters who made a great impression on stage. Because if it is true that “every fairy tale is a game played with time and is only half true,” every lie must know how to use this time well since, unlike any other story, it is not true at all. Maybe, for future editions, a nice gong to measure the minutes to use could be a valid innovation that the Academy of Lies will duly consider. In the year when the lie championship was dedicated to Pinocchio, the presence of the newly elected mayor of Pistoia Giovanni Capecchi, one of the world’s most important scholars of the puppet’s myth, could not be missing among the audience and jury. “To come here to Le Piastre,” said the mayor, “I temporarily left my beach umbrella because, as everyone knows, there is a sea in Pistoia.” A lie that made people smile but, to draw the biggest laughs later, was the closing joke. “The people of Pistoia are all very nice and now they have also learned to vote well. However, deep down, maybe this wasn’t really a lie.
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