Thank you Judith Works for this wonderful purse story - (see more about Judith at the end of the blog)
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Needing
my annual Italian "fix" my husband and I planned a two-week trip in
September. Not wanting to be left out, our daughter and son-in-law decided to
join us. We flew into Milan for four days of fun with friends from Spain and
Hungary who shared our fashion envy (Fashion Week was about to start), then
another four days in a country hotel - actually an old castle and lovely new
cottages set in an olive grove.
But,
as always, my real destination was Rome, my heart's home. We always stay in a
small hotel on the Aventine Hill, one of Rome's famous seven, near an area
called Testaccio. Again, we met friends, some by plan and even some by chance.
Near the end of our stay, we decided to walk to the new Testaccio Market. The
old one, taking up a full block, was always full of shoppers buying fresh
seafood, meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, and since it is Italy, shoes and
handbags. All in all it was the perfect shopping experience with food for body
and soul.
A
couple of years ago the authorities in their wisdom decided to move the
colorful market to a new and more sanitary location, one with underground
parking - not common in Rome because every time you stick a shovel
in the ground you hit antiquities. The new market was about ten blocks from our
hotel and not far from the famous Monte Testaccio, a 165-foot high, half-mile
around pile of potshards, broken amphorae from the ancient Roman port. The
amphorae were used to transport grain and oils from the Empire, and when they
were emptied they were tossed in this gigantic heap for us to marvel at.
The
market itself was also a marvel - the first thing we saw was a sushi bar - the
last thing we would have expected in a traditional market. Nothing else about
the design was very traditional either. Light, airy, stalls spread out -
it looked sterile. Some stalls were even glassed in, making them into shops.
But, oh joy - there were shoes, handbags, and clothing waiting for me. It
didn't take long to succumb to a pair of loafers and a leather jacket. We
needed to hurry along but I straggled behind looking for something else to
remember the trip by. And there they were: a show window filled with handbags
you couldn't find anywhere else. I walked in to check out the selection - all
handbags with 1950s Italian magazines encased in a plastic cover -
irresistible. Nothing like the wonderful leather creations, the symbol of
Italian craftsmanship, but something fun, something truly original to remember
the trip.
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The shop is called "I
Bottega I" The owner told us he made the bags all by hand and scoured flea
markets to find suitable magazines. Mine shows women modeling
Dior's "The New Look" from the late 1940s early1950s along with
ads for Cutex nail polish, a remedy for children's stomach disorders and wood
floor polish.
As I was digging out my
credit card my husband remarked to the owner that the market was overly cleaned
up, he responded, “Oh, don’t worry – it will just take a couple of years and we
will look just like the old market. This is Italy.”
Judith Works, a graduate of
Lewis & Clark Law School, is retired from the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
She is the author of a memoir about Rome,
Coins in the Fountain, available as an e-book, writes travel articles for
on-line publications as well as blogging her adventures. She is currently
President of the Friends of the Edmonds Library, on the steering committee for
Write on the Sound, and on the board for Edmonds Center for the Arts and EPIC
Group Writers.
https://www.amazon.com/author/coinsinthefountain
