An Italian underground passageway has been officially dedicated to Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, the creators of Dungeons & Dragons in an event attended by Gary Gygax’s son, Luke.
The iconic tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons is celebrating 50 years this year, and the Italian comic con Lucca Comics & Games is marking the occasion by dedicating the ‘dungeon’ to its two creators.
“It’s something very unique,” said Lucca Comics and Games director, Emanuele Vietina. The passageway, which was named ‘Baluardo San Paolino’, has now been named ‘Casermetta San Paolino e Sotterraneo Gary Gygax e Dave Arneson’, and acts as a bridge between the historic medieval walls and the bustling city centre: “It’s not just a street, it’s a vault!” Vietina told us ahead of the event.
“Thank you very much for supporting this,” Luke Gygax said at the event. “It’s incredible. There’s no way that my father, in 1974 as a humble cobbler, a shoe repairman who loved games and who created games, would imagine that his son would be standing here in front of a group of people, on his behalf, where he is honoured, along with Dave Arneson, for this amazing role playing game genre that was created through Dungeons and Dragons.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of all of my family. Thank you very much. It is a wonderful honour.”
Visitors to Lucca Comics & Games will be able to play Dungeons and Dragons in the passageway, which is filled with D&D exhibitions, displays and even a giant chocolate dragon (below), created by Damiano Carrara.
Lucca Comics & Games will be taking from 30 October to 3 November. Find out more at the official website here.
