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Solletico (Tickles) was an Italian children's program aired on RAI Uno from 1994 to 2000. The afternoon container featured cartoons and live-action series; large part of it was dedicated to interactive games via telephone. The program aired live from the RAI studios at Fiera Milano, except for the first season which aired from the Rai studio complex in Turin.

Solletico started on 21 March 1994 replacing Uno per Tutti (modified and renamed version of the historical afternoon container-program Big!), presented by Mauro Serio, later joined by Elisabetta Ferracini,^[1] sometimes by Michael Cadeddu, nicknamed "Lenticchia".^[1]

Among the segments was Solletico - Ricetta (dedicated to cooking), where Serio heard and appreciated the recipes from chef Michele Pezzoni, "Solletico's cook" (who did not take part in subsequent television programs afterwards). Later, a slot for scientific experiments was added, with two kids dressed up as scientists, which Serio nicknamed them as "Ein" e "Stein"; that segment closed with the catchphrase "CVD a tutti!".^[2]

Near the end of each edition, two teams of kids, Ramarri verdi and Pantere rosa, took part in the Sfida (Challenge).^[1]

For autumn 1994, Tilt TV was added, a sketch series with video-dependent characters:

• Lorefio, DJ similar to Fiorello (voiced by Luigi Rosa);
• Makò, recorder (voiced by Cesare Capitani);
• Tina, the female member (voiced by Anna Bonel in 1994-1995 and Dania Cericola in 1995-1997) ;
• Lillo, hungry and imaginative (voiced by Claudio Migliavacca).

There was also a segment on world cultures, where each week a child was taken into the studio coming from a different county: Russia, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Greece, etc., which brought with him typical objects or dishes from there.

At 4:45pm was the animal slot. Each day, Elisabetta Ferracini, together with experts and children, presented a different animal, dogs, cats and sometimes even exotic animals.

Until the 1997 edition, Le storie di Farland aired at 4pm, a sort of fantasy series, a true "film" set in a fantasy environment.

Each edition, usually, ended with a balled or music show in which the protagonists were always children.

The program also aired during summer repeating the best of the edition, before resuming with new episodes when the new season started at the end of summer.

The presenters were joined by a virtual brain named Osso, animated and voiced by Gigi Rosa, who replaced "Lenticchia".^[3]

On 2 February 1998, TG Ragazzi (later renamed GT Ragazzi) was added to the program, presented by Tiziana Ferrario, with the end of Solletico it became its own program in 2000-2001 on Rai Tre.^[3]

The season started on 31 August 1998 and ended on 28 May 1999.^[4] From 6 January, Ferraccini was replaced by Irene Ferri,^[1] as well as a group of girls named Solletichine (Chiara Silvia Maiocchi, Anna Bianco, Cristina Pegoraro, Caterina Poiani). An internet station was also inserted (presented by Argentine-born Fernando López) to discover the strangest websites, and the studio was full of kids involved in several activities.

The usage of new technologies was added in this new version, with games such as Solletierrore and Suonaltelefono.^[3]

Each edition of the week had a single theme:^[5]

• Monday: Zoolletico, dedicated to the animal world, with the presence in the studio of presenter Stefano Guizzi
• Tuesday: Solletimmaginario, where, under the satchphrase l'immaginario al potere!, characters from fables, romances and films appeared in the studio, following the entire edition
• Wednesday: Io e la mia città, "Video Postcards" of the cities of some children were seen, which were later sent into the studio to tell their passions.
• Thursday: Solletimusica, dedicated to music, with the studio-based games Doremifasolletico and Suona con i piedi
• Friday: Solletico-sala giochi, with phone-based games: Millelandia, Colora Il Quadro, Time Wing, Stellaris, the game inspired by the Sandokan cartoon, Hotel Cartoon and Crucinews.

The cartoons in this season were Heidi, Quasimodo, Princess Sissi, Sandokan, The Adventures of Tintin, You're Under Arrest and Jumanji, while the live-action series presented were Lassie, The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson e Zorro.

From August 1999, the sitcom Casa Solletico aired, with the protagonists (known as the "Solletifamily") being key figures from past editions, among them Mauro Serio, Irene Ferri, Fernando López and the Solletichine. The stories took place in Mauro Serio's new virtual residence, which included both old and new characters. Among the new characters there was the myopic "interactive" journalist of Solletiggì, Felice Benvenuto (Gigi Rosa), miss Cocò (Angela Parmigiani), Neapolitan housekeeper Antonio (Francesco Maria Cordella), Irene's boyfriend Max Ridge (Paolo Calabresi), mother Lucy (Liliana Cusartelli) Mauro Ingrid's former schoolmate (Rosy Morgese).

The last edition ran from October 1999 to May 2000, under the name Solletico 2000.^[1] This edition was presented by Arianna Ciampoli and Michele La Ginestra, the latter was later occupied by Mauro Serio, who returned;^[1] initially Giovanni Muciaccia (already presenter of La Banda dello Zecchino with Ciampoli) was invited, but after a long reflection, he rejected to present Art Attack, where he became a national success.^[6] The set changed, which became a sort of "mega mini world".^[3]

The program aimed at becoming a sort of "television square" to find children and make them protagonists, following a guide theme to stimulate their creativity and helping them to play, writing tales and, in turn, becoming authors of questions. The cartoons in this season were The Angry Beavers, Biker Mice from Mars, Renaade, Tommy & Oscar and the live-action series The New Addams Family and Our Gang.

Solletico Story presented highlights from the last two seasons of the show. The new cartoons were Orson & Olivia and 00Mike.^[7]

The program ended in June 2000 due to low ratings,^[1] and gave way to La vita in diretta, presented by Michele Cucuzza, promoted from Rai Due to Rai Uno.^[1]

The primary causes for its closure, according to Mauro Serio, were the initial withdrawal of Disney series (Disney Channel had launched and preferred to keep its products exclusive to it) and Pokémon became a ratings success on commercial television.^[8]

From then on, Rai 2 started covering the age range that Solletico covered.^[3] Until 12 September 2010, Rai 3 offered two programs similar toSolletico, namely Trebisonda and Melevisione;^[1] the latter targeting a preschool demographic, and the former, the demographic catered by Solletico.^[3]

The show invited kids from elementary or middle schools, split in two teams ("Ramarri Verdi" and "Pantere Rosa"), who took part in games, such as:

• Doremifasolletico, team-based musical game, where the Ramarri Verdi and the Pantere Rosa answered questions on music videos, bands, singers or eventual studio guests.
• Solletiquiz, a child from one of the two teams answered some questions, while the members of the rival team tickled under the feet.
• Suona con i piedi was the final game with the intervention of a child in the studio and another at home through the telephone's keypad. The goal is to recompose a melody, while the child in the studio stepped a reproduced keypad, and if possible, the child in the studio could help the child at home.

Viewers at home were also contestants, thanks to a server active for twelve hours a day, collecting their advice and suggestions. Notable games included:

• Pinguino Joe: a tortuous, obstacle-filled course, featuring polar bear Beo, where the titular pengiun, controlled by the player by the phone, could finish the course in the least amount of time possible, winning.
• Cico e Paco: analogous to its predecessor, this time involving a monkey, Cico, avoiding Paco the hippo to catch him and steal his banana
• Colora il quadro: a famous painting appeared, first in color, then in black and white. The player by the phone would remember the colors and select the right ones (from a pallette visible on screen) in the shortest possible amount of time, alongside a contestant in the studio.
• Joe Razz: a platform game that existed in 1994. In a near-three dimensional environment (new for the time), the protagonist was a blonde boy with a purple jacket, which, stuck in a fantasy world populated by dinosaurs, must face, controlled by the player at home, a dangerous path, structured in three levels and with different ways to exit in each edition. Other landscapes emerged later.
• Stellaris: appearing in 1995, it was an interactive story, whose scenes were presented as cartoons. The protagonists were two kids, Max and Silvia, accmopanied by their robot-maid Greta, which, either on land and in the aquatic world, fought several characters, each of which offered a different challenge to the player, especially memory games. In the aquatic world, there was Murena, owner of the Coral Barrier, with the frase "No volemo ficcanasi alla Barriera Corallina...", storyteller Ippocampo, Garcia l'Orca, an orca poet, doctor Dentice, and enemy Fira Friday. The contestant had a fixed time on the telephone to advance in the story. The success of Stellaris caused Sacis to publish PC versions.
• 4x1-4: consisted of a photo with four images, each one representing a different animal. The player by the phone had to identify them (at each animal found, a prize was offered).
• Tutti frutti: four contestants had to guide four animals (a mouse, a monkey, a bear and an alien) searching for four fruits, with the help of the phone pad.
• Solletic...Errore: during Io e la mia città, viewers had to identify the error in the video postcard.
• Soap-Papera: soap opera played by Mauro Serio, the Solletichine, and Fernando López (who told daily life stories), with mistakes viewers at home had to find.

Disney:

• Aladdin (first run)
• Bonkers
• Darkwing Duck
• DuckTales
• Gargoyles
• Goof Troop
• The Little Mermaid
• TaleSpin

Animes:

• Anne of Green Gables
• Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern
• Heidi, Girl of the Alps^[9]
• You're Under Arrest^[10] (first run)
• Wakakusa no Charlotte

Hanna-Barbera

• 2 Stupid Dogs (first run)
• Captain Planet and the Planeteers
• Droopy: Master Detective
• Pirates of Dark Water (first run)
• Swat Kats (first run)
• La famiglia Addams (first run)
• The Flintstones
• The Jetsons
• The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (first run)
• Young Robin Hood

Other companies

• Barbe Rouge (first run)
• Biker Mice from Mars (first run)
• Dog City
• Highlander: The Animated Series (first run)
• Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa (first run)
• Ghostbusters (Filmation)
• The Busy World of Richard Scarry (first run. only the first 45 episodes)
• The Prince of Atlantis^[11] (first run)
• Yolanda - La hija del Corsario Negro' (first run)
• Jumanji^[12]
• Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
• Princess Sissi (first run)
• The Adventures of Tintin^[13]
• Orson and Olivia^[14] (first run)
• Poil de Carotte (first run)
• The Magical Adventures of Quasimodo (first run)
• ReBoot (first run)
• Renaade^[15] (first run)
• Rupert^[16]
• Sandokan: The Tiger of Malaysia^[17][18] (first run)
• Spider-Man: The Animated Series^[19] (first run)
• Tommy & Oscar^[20] (first run)

• Le storie di Farland
• The Secret World of Alex Mack^[21]
• The New Lassie^[22]
• The New Addams Family^[23]
• The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson^[24]
• Our Gang^[25]
• Zorro (1957)
• Zorro (1990)^[26]
• Tarzan
• Dinosaurs
• Land of the Lost
• Boy Meets World
• Pippi Longstocking
• Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Its theme tune was written by Riccardo Cimino and composed by Chicco Santulli, and interpreted by both Serio and Ferracini with the Small Singers' Chorus of Milan directed Laura Marcora. In the final season, a new theme, Solletico So What, appeared, which was the existing theme with small modifications.

• 1994-1998
• Solletico (1998-1999)