Pinocchio is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan village. He was created as a wooden puppet but he dreams of becoming a real boy. He is notably characterized for his frequent tendency to lie, which causes his nose to grow.
Pinocchio is a cultural icon. He is one of the most reimagined characters in children's literature. The origin of the name Pinocchio is uncertain; it may be related to the word pino (pine), as the puppet is made of wood, in the diminutive Tuscan form pinocchio (hence equivalent to "little piney") – the author used Florentine dialect frequently in the book – and is also similar to Pino, a nickname for Giuseppe (the Italian form of Joseph), of which Geppetto (the name of Pinocchio's maker) is also a nickname (hence equivalent to "little Joey").