The Games and Toys of the Past

Camilla's parents answer revealed the fact that once the fantasy was stronger then technology, and children were playing with simple things, sometimes self-produced and especially outdoors.

Camilla's mother confided that she did not have many toys and games as a child, but she loved to play with her friends the "game of the week" - drawing with chalk on the asphalt 7 square shapes; within each of them they would throw a pebble, one-legged hopping on the square without stepping on the line. They would also often played with stilts built by his father, or pretended to be a mother, a cashier, a teacher or a princess. Another game that was fun, was to assemble the tent, use the pots and pretend all along that this was their home. The favorite game of the mother of Camilla, however, was the timeless Cicciobello doll, which remained a famous character for children.

Camilla's father loved to play instead with the electric train and mostly outdoors, playing football or the game of numbers. He also loved to play cards, chess or "subbuteo". Another passion of Camilla's father was reading, especially "Il Giornale", which was given to him as a reward on the Sunday in which he was an altar boy.
Camilla's parents said that even if they had a few games, children were happy, because the real fun does not consist in possessing modern toys, but to give space to imagination.