Fao Schwartz, the most famous toy store in the world for children of all ages, has landed in Milan with a 600 square meter store on 3 floors in Piazza Cordusio.
Its records are so many: the oldest toy store in the United States, the largest in the world, the most celebrated by the cinema, the symbol of teddy bears and Nutcracker soldiers.
The story of Fao Schwarz begins in 1862, when Frederick August Otto Schwartz opens his first toy store in Baltimore and 8 years later in New York in the legendary Fifth Avenue location (later moved to Rockefeller Plaza), made famous by many films.
Among the most famous scenes, going in chronological order, we remember Tom Hanks who in 1988’s Big who dances on the dance-on-piano, the piano that plays while walking on its giant keys, still today one of the most popular attractions of the store (in Milan in the floor minus one), and Macaulay Culkin in 1992’s Home alone 2: lost in New York who saves Duncan’s Toy Chest, the protagonist of the famous comedy, from the terrible theft attempted by a talented Joe Pesci.
Or 1995 Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite where, in the final scene, Lenny and Linda meet by chance or, again in the finale, in 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise leave behind their adventures to enjoy the Christmas shopping with their little daughter.
And, again for cinema lovers, exclusively for the Milan store, the legendary platform 9 ¾ of the train to Hogwarts from the Harry Potter film has been rebuilt and, on the ground floor, the protagonist of the scenes of many films, you will obviously be greeted by the giant clock tower that plays Welcome to Our World of Toys (Fao Schwarz Clock Song) by Bobby Gosh at every hour.
In the store, each floor is dedicated to a different world, from Marvel to Barbie, and Nutcracker soldiers in flesh and blood, wizards and costumed characters entertain children of all ages with games and demonstrations.
The coolest toys you can only find at FAO? The Toy Soldier Teddy Bear, the Life Size Paddington Teddy Bear and the Wooden Nutcraker, a must for Christmas decorations.
And for a Christmas break in Milan, after visiting the store, you can book two of the restaurants that the old Schwartz would really like. Al Garghet, a party of lights, fir trees and giant toy soldiers that the owner Emanuela Cipolla bought right at the NY store, and Il Baretto di San Vigilio, above Bergamo, a real gem where bears and lights become protagonists thanks to the setting created by the owner Beppe Acquaroli who, with his family, also takes care of the decorations of the small walled village, truly a marvel during the holidays.
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