" Museo dei colori" (Colour Museum) LAMOLI, MARCHE, ITALY

When staying in the Marche province of Italy some years back, my dear friend Ann arranged to take me to a village called Lamoli to visit the " Museo dei colori" (Colour Museum). Apparently they made charcoal there  in the traditional old way. ... We were going to do some sketching !    We were in for such a surprise ...  so much more than charcoal.

We met with MAXIMO GUERRA at the Abbey oh san Benedictio where in the basement Maximo had set up the Museum after years of research following the discvoery of a large stone wheel in a local paddock.    His research revealed that in this village of Lamoli during medieval times, monks who scribed the illuminated manuscripts would visit  to get their supplies of BLUE PAINT !!   Of all the colours!    This was before lapis lazuli was used to make BLUE paint.   They came here because in this region a yellow flower was grown and by grounding the flower seed ,..it produced a powder pigment ... the colour blue.   Pilgrims also passed through this way following the paths of monks on their Pilgrimage to Rome.   

We were introduced to a statue of Saint Michael, an Archangel,  the patron saint of Pilgrims.   I did not know then, that I would travel the Way of Saint James to Santiago  with San Miguel as our guide, years later. 

We did find the Carbonari (charcoal burners) who created charcoal needed by  local restaurants for cooking,   not for sketching... but that's another story!  A labour of love in this paradise.

Below Photo of me with Maximo and his family ( his wife had to translate as he did not speak English)
Co-incidently,  the blouse I was wearing had a pattern incredibly similar to that on a poster in the Museum. ( on the wall behind me).!!...

I felt many blessed moments that day, unbeknown to me nor my friend, we were in the home of the original Blue paint needed for scribing the Illuminated Manuscripts.
Lamoli, Marche, Italy.  Thankyou Maximo and Annee.

The Process (in italian) in 1631.