How the idea was born

Two simple events motivated the Italian-Panamanian family to present the collection in a museum and get involved in the museum world.

During a visit to family and friends in Italy, an interest in buttons was born when observing how common it was to find the traditional cookie box, transformed into the button box, passed down from generation to generation. When examining the contents of these boxes, buttons of all kinds and types were found, of different materials, years, manufacture, colors, shapes. The differences between the contents of one box and another were evident.

This aroused our curiosity and led us to look for the motivations, the social messages conveyed by these small objects.

In the end we came to consider that, although it was an everyday object, and could go unnoticed, it had our history, so it deserved to be collected.

Subsequently we have observed, also in other countries, that the buttons represent the testimony of facts and habits and therefore we have strengthened our interest through the study of their relationship with our history, economy, fashion, habits, religion and more.

Thus, the research has made us discover that there are museums of buttons that represent a tourist offer both in Italy and in England and the United States.

Thus was born the motivation to expose the collection to the public through the creation, first of a Foundation and, later, of a Museum.