Recently I bought a super cute cardigan at a thrift/usato mercatino for only 3 euros. Bargain! The only thing I didn't like about said sweater was it came with ugly buttons. No problem, I snipped them off. Yesterday Massimo and I decided to visit what we thought was a nearby factory outlet for sewing supplies so I could find some nice buttons to replace the hideous ones I cut off. The drive there took us through some unfamiliar mountain roads and villages where we made some discoveries, which I'll circle back to.
When we finally arrived at our destination we were told the factory was definitely not open to the public. But, after telling the manager our story and my need for 4 new buttons she kindly allowed us entry into a spacious reception area with gorgeous mountain views and a three storey tall lighted bamboo sculpture! I showed her my sweater and she asked me if I had a colour preference. I said black. She then left us momentarily while she went into the warehouse. She returned with a bag of about 50 black buttons, which she gave me gratis, because of course they were not a shop, but a large factory. Her kindness made my day!
Now this next part could only happen in the wilds of Italy. On our way to the button factory we discovered the remains of an approx 15 meter medieval tower! With the button mission complete we just had to explore this ancient ruin. Turns out the tower (thank you Google) was built in 1219 as part of a castle. The castle was destroyed in an earthquake in 1470 and then the tower was split in two in a seismic event in the 1800s.
Discovering an 800 year old ruined tower among the mountains my imagination goes to ancient wizards, alchemy and who knows what other occult mischief?! This was truly a highlight of an already pretty good day!
Some more pics from around the tower.
Wonder what is on the other side of this doorway?
Thanks for reading!
