Passing through the stalls of the Antiques Market in Campo San Maurizio is like visiting an old attic and rummaging through dusty trunks, it is like opening heavy drawers to find some precious jewellery boxes.
Stripy awnings of a faded orange colour protect the looks and the hands, which lightly touch interesting and sometimes precious objects .
Voices come from natives and foreigners, price requests, dates and origins blend together. Many curious people usually stand without speaking, maybe they feel intimidated by the vigilant look of the vendors, the negotiations do not happen very often, or maybe they are completed with great discretion.
The list of objects is bizarre, a little nostalgic and sometimes touching. What follows partially represents what you will see there.
Murano Glass, everywhere – laconic labels say Seguso, Salviati, Barovier – wonderful millefiori murrina paperweights, a lot of silverware, fragile porcelain tea services, cutesy pic-nic baskets, laces and costume jewellery, books, old prints and even old sets of fonts, miniature chinoiserie and many objects from the East India Company. Militaria from the two World Wars are always there. Precious fabric lovers might even find, with some luck, some Fortuny or Bevilacqua pieces, let’s not forget we are in Venice. Amphoras, rugs, garden statues and some furniture are scattered on the Venetian flagstones. To tell truth it looks like a flea market more than an antiques market!
Furthermore, for vintage lovers there are accessories from the 50s and 60s, fur coats of any style and colour, beautiful bakelite costume jewellery, diva- glasses frames, Hermés collection scarves and, of course, the iconic Roberta di Camerino bags.
Whether you are a true collector or just an incurable nostalgic, an antiques or modern antiques lover, you cannot miss this appointment!
F.B
