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He made this stone table out of scrap tiles from his bathrooms and floors.

We had one of these lamps when I was a kid. I liked the shadows it projected on my desk and on the walls.

This desk lamp switches off automatically when folded. Not sure if it's an Italian design.

Geloso G.268 tape recorder.

Made by Magnetofoni Castelli, another historic Italian electronic firm closed in 1989:
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetofoni_Castelli

Mario made these lamps by cutting open used PET bottles. Nice idea.

Mario also owns this vintage 8 mm movie camera powered by a... spring! Yes. You recharge it by winding the knob on the side. Not sure how long the film spool will last.

This consumer product was designed by Revere, an American company which was acquired by 3M in 1960:
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revere_Camera_Company

I found some info on the Revere Model 153 Power Zoom:
http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-coll/movie/other/roundup_revere-wollensak.html

This is presumed to be a 1962 model, oddly 2 years after Revere ceased to exist as an independent brand.

This model sold for $168, equivalent to $1700 today. According to the US Census, family income averaged to about $6000 in 1962, making this minimalist movie camera affordable for the middle class.

Mario and his wife still use this mechanical kitchen scale.

The label says it was built by Santo Stefano S.p.A. in Varese. There isn't a lot of information online about this presumably defunct company. How old is this thing? How much did it cost?

Next to the scale, I notice this hand-made wine dispenser.

Mario lifts the wooden box, revealing an air-tight bag designed to prevent oxidation.

I've seen similar containers sold in Tuscan supermarkets, where table wine is cheap and ubiquitous. #Italy #chianti #wine

Mario seems unaware that Mario is a stereotypical Italian name, but when I mentioned Nintendo's Mario Bros., he pulled out these dolls... an ironic birthday gift from his daughter.

He *does* wear a mustache, but rather than a plumber, he was a barista. Rather than a princess, he married an accountant... and they lived happily ever after... at least it seems so to me

On christmas 1981, Mario bought his son a VIC 20, and started teaching himself and us BASIC from the included user manual.

Programming in #BASIC was fun and easy, and I got hooked to it for life

I asked Mario if he still has that #VIC20, but... NO! He gave it away, or sold it. DAMMIT. I would have been so happy to see again that particular piece of vintage electronics

Some pages of the #Commodore User's Manual are permanently burnt into my brain. This short booklet went quite deep into the hardware internals, and invited the reader to tweak the sample programs to see what happens. Mind blowing.