Checker Tobi: Adventure Italy
Tobi discovers Italy: In his 80-minute adventure film, the Checker travels from South Tyrol to Rome. Along the way he meets unusual people who are as exciting as the country itself. With the mountain guide Simon, he climbs the highest of the "Three Peaks" in the Dolomites - a rather difficult test for climbing beginners. Because nothing works on this steep face without a rope and safety hooks. Tobi already has a lot of questions on the way there: Why does breathing become more and more strenuous at altitude? Why does everyone in South Tyrol speak two languages, Italian and German, when South Tyrol belongs to Italy? What do you actually do when you have to go to the toilet in the middle of the steep face? From the summit at 3,000 metres, you go straight down to sea level: to Venice.
In the lagoon city, Tobi finds out how a city without streets works: Does the rubbish collection come on foot or by boat? And why do you only see children riding bicycles in Venice and never adults? Tobi explores the historic city together with Elisa, a student from Venice. The two take a boat-bus, the "vaporetto", along the Grand Canal. They visit the famous "Pietro Longhi" studio and try on magnificent carnival costumes there. From architect Clemens, Tobi learns how to build houses in a city on the water and how the Venetians try to protect them from floods. Tobi even gets to take a look at the MOSE construction site: This is a gigantic dam in the lagoon, far out towards the Adriatic Sea.
The underwater dam system is designed to protect the city and its magnificent art treasures from flooding. Of course, there's one thing you can't miss on a visit to Venice: a gondola ride. But Tobi really wants to steer the gondola himself: standing up and with only one oar, as the rudder is called. Will that work? Tobi's last stop is the eternal city: Rome. The past is omnipresent there: ancient ruins and remains of the ancient city can be found everywhere. Rome has been around for 2700 years, a period of time you can hardly imagine. Together with the archaeologist Fabio, Tobi sets off in search of traces of the ancient Romans. They were already very advanced: tenement houses seven storeys high, running water and roads - all that existed back then.
Fabio + Tobi dress up in Roman garb + check out a Roman tenement house that is over 1800 years old to see if Roman children went to school and what the slaves were all about. Rome was a huge empire that extended into modern-day Germany. Little by little, the Roman army had conquered half of Europe. With archaeologist Tanja, Tobi checks out what it was like to be a Roman legionnaire. On the outskirts of Rome, the group "gruppo storico romano" has recreated a real Roman camp, complete with guard fence + grim-faced legionaries. Tobi slips into one of their heavy suits of armour and trains combat formations with the legionaries, for example the "turtle". I wonder what's behind it.
Broadcasting on 03rd of October 2023 at 02.00pm + on 06th of October 2023 at 08.35pm on KiKa/ZDF
Music: POPVIRUS Library