tucked inside of the zippered pouch

Had to post a follow up about the leather doctor’s bag found at the tag sale…we found two identical charms inside. The charms (with the Italian word Ricordo on top – which means memento/keepsake etc.) slips inside the red pouch that reads ‘ovunque proteggimi’ – which we googled, and it means: “everywhere shield me” (from bad things)

At first, we weren’t sure who was on the silver charm – it says: Maria SS. Del Tindari

after some research we found this: Devotion to the Black Madonna has long existed in Europe. The various aspects of the dark-skinned Virgin Mary are considered miraculously powerful and are credited with having protected believers from such afflictions as earthquakes, pestilence, and the attacks of invading armies. Check out the pic on this site: http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic30-1-2/madonna.html

We’re being super dorks and imagining who owned this purse, where these charms came from…and there are two, it’s fate!