A weekend of time traveling

It’s finally springtime and the first sunshine and the trees in bloom convince me to take a trip. I take advantage of the “Castelli Aperti” (Open Castles) event to go and visit the famous castles in Strassoldo. This small village in Friuli opens twice a year to the public: Palm Sunday weekend and the second-to-last weekend of October.

Have a look at the photos: the place is lovely, built along the old Julia Augusta Roman road, the two castles and their gardens of the ‘700s are surrounded by a small stream, creating a romantic and enchanted atmosphere.

To make our visit even more interesting, we were surrounded by the creations of local artisans, decorators and antique collectors that were presented inside the buildings, giving life to a small village, almost like going back in time.

The creations I was most impressed by were those of a hat maker (as you know hats are a passion of mine and I collect them) and the scarpets, the traditional footwear of Friuli, made by CenCeTak (that means without heel). Following tradition all these items are made with recovered materials: they used to use left over velvet from holiday clothes and the shoe sole was made with old bicycle tyres that was cut up and sewn together.

The shape of these scarpets is traditional but the fabric and decorations make them special. The colours are perfect for this sunny day, right?

There was another detail that I loved: the floral decorations inside the castles. Spring had crept into all the rooms, along the stairs and windows as if they were celebrating the wedding of the princess of the hamlet. A wonderful weekend!