Not much happening with metal detecting.  Covid has stopped many chances to go.   Other times, things got in the way.  Getting permission to hunt on someone's property is difficult.

There are always plenty of excuses.  

Testing to see if anyone reads this.

The King's Trash

Tracking Down The King

Sunday I was out to a field close to where the King of Italy lived during World War I.  He chose to live in a small castle/villa which had thermal pools and is located in a peaceful area south of Padova.  (It was a tough life)   He was quite safe from all the action, yet close enough to know what his generals were accomplishing. 

Claudio

Knowing where this castle is, which happens to be 10 minutes from my village, I researched to find where the troops were placed to protect him, and it just so happens that a friend of mine, Claudio,  lives next to this field.   I started detecting at 8:00 and enjoyed the last gasp of summer and the start of autumn.   My hopes were to at least find some buttons or metal objects left by the soldiers.  My highest were to find coins lost by soldiers or even better, by the Romans who vacationed at the spas.

Claudio is now hooked on metal detecting, he enjoyed helping me search. 

I had a lot of hope, but all we found was an old tube that could have been toothpaste or vasoline (paint removed), and then a pair of keys, two exactly the same (modern).

This area has been used since before Roman times, as the thermal pools made a popular place for people to go as a pastime.  The road from Rome to Padova goes right by this area.  I know that sooner or later I will find something worthwhile.  The word in Italian is Pazienza. 

Ciao!  

Searching From Year 1100

As anyone who detects underground in Europe knows, it is all about finding and obtaining permission to hunt.  It is not like America where huge parcels of land has been set aside for all the people to enjoy.  Here, in Italy, for instance, the land has been taken, owned and used for hundreds of years.  There is less public park land.   You knock on a lot of doors, meet and greet folks.

Built in  the 1100's

Rosita and Francesco Discuss the Permission

Today with help from my good friend Rosita, I scheduled my first hunt  on a property owned by Francesco,  where his house was built in the 1100's.  It lies in the very center of my village of Due Carrare.  This is exciting, as one can imagine, and I will get to break in my new Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro detector.   It will be the first time to use it since I brought it from my visit to California a few weeks ago.

Francesco turned out to be very friendly and interesting, and also knows a lot of local history.  He has even taken part in writing a book on the building, Palazzo Tondello.  Rosita helped me find a gold mine!

WWII Germans Were Next Door (right)

Rosita knows a lot about the history of my village, and today she told me a lot of things I did not know.  Now I will  pursue a permission in the next door villa where German Officers had lived in WWII.  She also knew a lot about an old abandoned ruin in the very center of my village.  I will now be able to make contact with the owner and try for a permission.  I was shown several other places to detect and informed how to find the owners.    

My village was the birthplace of the famous Carraresi family.  They were the rulers of Padua (Padova) in the latter Middle Ages.  Of note, they supported the poet Petrarch, who was given a place to live in the hills above Due Carrare in Arqua.  When Petrarch died he left his painting of the Virgin by Giotto to the head of the Carrare family.

You can begin to consider the historical possibilities I will have with my new Bounty Hunter.

Francesco's Workshop

Now as I enjoy my coffee Americano, I will consider a plan for my second excursion.

Thank you, Rosita.

    Thank you all for reading.  Grazie tutti!

       I welcome comments.