he best caps findings in my life had always belonged to the night, exciting, astonishing: presents by more or less known people, or casual discoveries in the most unbelievable places.

Unique pieces that I'd never seen before, I could neither suppose may exist, and, in fact, they were unreal, unfortunately! If, in the morning, I could only find even the tenth part of the crowns dreamed in the night, I'd surely be the most furnished and envied collector.

I can't sincerely say today, after all these years, which kind of dreams could have peopled that very night, neither any disappointment comes back to my mind, but there was no time to regret or recriminate, ‘cause the trip I was about to start was full of expectations: just the time to pick up my brother and the road began to scroll below us, unaware of our hopes, projecting us into every adventure's mother.

Hundreds of time I'd been driving along those roads, going to work, but now the surrounding land was looking different to me, and even the high buildings hiding the horizon near the urban crossings seemed to be less suffocating than usual.

Time passed quickly, during the trip, talking about our hobby, that passion able to keep even more tied three brothers after that each one had chosen his own way in life.

Once arrived to destination we rang to the door bell of a very old building not looking its age, and a tall fierce looking man came and open the door: his white hair and the wrinkles furrowing his face showed he lived a big part of the just ended century historical events.

In a nostalgic vein he told us about the time he was producing and bottling his soda drinks, and about the matters forcing to close his firm and the most of the similar ones: he seemed happy to bring us up to the attic where he still kept some old crown corks!

Two flights of a wooden staircase brought us into a dusty and dark attic: across a thick cobweb plot it was possible to see the astonished look of the spiders that had never seen any living being crossing those gluey threads forests before.

We walked a tenth of meters bend forward, overcoming every kind of obstacles, but then, suddenly, I forgot my painful back when the man opened a big wooden box cover and lighted by a torch its contents: it was full up to the edge with untouched crown caps loaded with dust and years, only awaiting for anybody to appreciate their immense value!

Through the darkness, astonished and incredulous, we exchanged a glance, but, before our eyes shining may betray our enthusiasm, we compose ourselves moderately showing our interest.

“You can fill a couple of bags”, conceded the Genius of the lamp, so we dived head-first into that fabulous coffer, trying to diversify our choosing, as much as we were allowed to do by the light lack; we could just vaguely see the figures, but we knew anyway we were living a magic moment in a collector's life.

Finally, thanking heartily, we greeted with a very significant “see you soon”, than way back to the travel bringing home us and the treasure. The daylight illuminated our joyful and astonishment shouts underlining the vision of caps that, one by one, Alberto extracted from the bags and submitted to my slavering approval, careless of the highway code prohibition "don't talk to the driver nor show him crown caps", and inside myself I find unfair to be the only one of us to have a driving licence.

Even greater was the enthusiasm while, at home, we acquainted Massimo as well with those celestial visions, extracting, as from an endless wizard's cylinder, jewels taking away our breath one after the other.

Swastikas, lictor's fasces, Savoyard shields were appearing on many caps, some had the Mussolini's slogans emphatic names, others, even more enrapturing, coming from colonies, or used to supply our soldiers in war: in short, it was just like turning over the pages of an history book!

We went other times to sack that never ending widow's cruse, even if the merchant's instinct leaded the old man to ask us an increasing price for each visit, just like a professional man fee. But, after all, the utility of being three brothers is also the chance of dividing the costs, so that at the end the coffer was practically emptied, and in our collection real masterpieces started to show themselves.

I think I may say that the end of my fatuous nocturnal findings started that very day, different visions fill the places where my dreams space in, but I like to think it's due to the matter that reality exceeds imagination….

Lorenzo