About the Memento Vivere Museum:
To put it briefly the museum's function is to home and display memento collections from around the world.
The Museum is situated on the Isle of st. Anthony which is located amid the cluster of the southwestern isles of the Imaginary World.
The Museum is situated on the Isle of st. Anthony which is located amid the cluster of the southwestern isles of the Imaginary World.
About the founder:
Jerome N.F. Vivere founded the museum 72 years ago. An avid traveller and collector, he later in life became overwhelmed by the sheer volume of his collection and as a solution decided to build a warehouse to store it all. At certain times of the year he would invite friends and acquaintances to view and marvel at the more interesting collections he had acquired. However something he did not anticipate happened: friends began to bring their own collections and to share with him how they came about acquiring them. Being a curious and sensitive man he was touched by their stories and asked them to participate in the next exhibit. They in turn asked friends to join in and they enthusiastically went on to bring their own collections. A tradition and institution was born. We at the museum try faithfully to serve both.
Jerome in his own words:
“My very first collection was created when I was around 8 years old. My parents and I set out to visit one of my mothers cousins on the isle of St Francis. It was the first time I journeyed on a boat and I found the whole experience thrilling. During the voyage, the captain, a kindly and cheery fellow tried to entertain this little boy with sailors banter. He showed me a piece of rope and spun a tale of how he had captured a sea-monster the previous night and had tied it to the rear of the ship but to his surprise found that by dawn the creature had escaped and that this was all that remained of the rope that had held the monster. My eyes bulged with awe and I gingerly took the piece of rope and tried to imagine what kind of monster it had held. I later found a box and stored it as my own private treasure. During the rest of the trip I filled that box with other findings and later on took it home with me. To this day, when I open that frail wooden box and take that piece of rope within my hands I am instantly transferred to that ship’s deck and I become just for a second that curious little boy, full of awe and wonder. I know that you will agree that that feeling, is priceless.
An excerpt from the book: “Mementos: not mere objects”
…Experiences are what humans treasure most. Mementos are connections to their experiences. Every item in a collection transforms from a trivial item to a powerful symbol, acting like a time machine, transferring ones being to a past life…