In Hope of a Glorious Find

Pick a destination and then enjoy the journey of discovery along the way. That is my favorite way to explore Rome on foot.

Today I chose MACRO, a modern art museum in Rome with a café and free Wi-Fi. Necessary requirements when studies are required but I want to explore the city and don’t want to stay inside the apartment.

On the way today I walked past a caffè with fun table arrangements of old Mokka pots and cappuccino cups to hold sugar. I thought about how fun it would be to find old Mokka pots to use for similar reasons in an antique store. Then, within 5 minutes I discovered an antique store - Antichità Italiane. Serendipity! Of course, I had to explore and see if there might be a Mokka pot. No luck, but I did happen upon the most glorious find! An antique Venetian mask from the 1920’s, made for theatre rather than Carnival, complete with the stamp of originality. I was stunned and had only the slightest hesitation if I should get it or not.

Antique Venetian Theatre Mask. Circa 1920's. Author's personal collection.

This find brought full circle several life moments. Growing up, I would endlessly marvel at the map that hung at my grandparents’ home. A map that tracked my grandpa’s flights working around the world for various airlines. Surrounding the map were masks representing different countries he had traveled to. Some as simply flights with extended stays, and others, locations he had been based at and traveled through regularly.

Grandpa Lamb in the cockpit.

I have begun my own collection of masks from travels, including a couple from Haiti. While in Venice this past weekend, I was on the hunt for a mask to add to the collection and found a couple that spoke to me.

But this one…this all-gold antique mask…it hits something different.

Walking out of the shop, mask in hand, I felt my Grandpa Lamb smiling on me, encouraging me in my journeys around the world. And that – that feeling – was the glorious find!