Corsica's Playmobil homage to Napoleon

AJACCIO, France - Tucked away on a side street near the Corsican home where Napoleon Bonaparte was born, a mini museum invites young minds to relive the French emperor's story - through scenes painstakingly built from hundreds of Playmobil figurines.

Frederic Pierrot, a 53-year-old IT entrepreneur, came up with the idea a few years ago as a way to pay homage to the Mediterranean island's most famous son while "rediscovering the historical reconstructions I did when I was 10 years old".

"I wanted an original idea, far from all the digital technology offerings," he said, of his Naporama museum in the island's capital, Ajaccio.

Using pieces from his vast Playmobil collection, he began customizing the figurines with paper, raffia and even handmade accessories to create historically accurate scenes and characters.

For $23, fans can buy their own made-to-order Napoleon or his wife Josephine.

Giving guided tours, Pierrot sharpens his visitors' curiosity with little known anecdotes while sketching out the events which changed the course of history.

"When he was 13 years old, Napoleon organized a snowball fight which lasted three days at the Brienne military school" in northeastern France, he said.

"For historians, these days already gave a hint of the future chief's character."

Next up are reconstructions, beginning with the 1793 Siege of Toulon, where the young general showed his strategic flair, and ending with his crowning as emperor in 1804.

The tone is unabashedly upbeat - there is no reproduction of his disastrous final defeat at Waterloo, for instance - with tales of courage, friendship and a bit of coquetry.

Pierrot also has another trick to keep visitors on their toes. Hidden among the Playmobil models are characters who don't belong: Harry Potter, Yoda, Sherlock Holmes and even a Pokemon.

"All right kids, learn how to keep your eyes peeled," he tells them.

"That's what I liked best," said Maxence, a 7-year-old from the French city of St Etienne.

Madeleine, a 13-year-old who spends each summer in Corsica, has visited dozens of times, and has even given Pierrot her old Playmobil figures so that he can build new scenes.

And it's not only children who emerge from the visit as enthusiastic fans.

"It's amazing, like a child's dream," said Simon Mattens, a 25-year-old Belgian.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 08/04/2018 page9)