Cultural Sediments

Legends

NEMI LAKE THE GOLDEN BRANCH The Golden Branch was caught by Aeneas at the invitation of the Sibyl before attempting the journey into the realm of the dead. According to the ancient, this legend was a strange custom connected: only those who had managed to snatch a branch of the tree that grew in the precincts of the sanctuary of Diana at Nemi, killing the priest who watched over the place, could succeed him as “King of forest “. From this sacred and bloody rite, a Scottish scientist, James G. Frazer, developed the most comprehensive study on the anthropology of religion in the world, a work of almost 900 pages, which is a point of reference for any student.

BOLSENA LAKE THE AMALASUNTA QUEEN Looked out from a tower on the Martana’s island, in the spring of 535, the Amalasunta Queen. Daughter of the great king, Teodorico, was imprisoned on the island of Bolsena’s Lake by her husband and cousin Teodato, and then made to kill. Are on death towards of this unfortunate woman different versions: strangled in his prison, or killed while swimming in a cove on the coast. At sunset, when the water turns red, some say they have seen through the image of the beautiful queen.

VICO LAKE THE LEGEND OF HERCULES According to legend, the lake of Vico originated from the club that Hercules stuck in the ground to challenge the locals, no one could remove it. When he did Hercules, flowed a river of water that went and filled the valley forming the lake. The Lake of Vico is actually the result of volcanic activity and that is what has best preserved its characteristic shape, which testifies to the origin.

ALBANO LAKE THE MYSTERY OF THE WATER LEVEL Legend has it that in 396 BC, before the fall of Veio, the soothsayers predict that only when the water of Lake Albano had followed an unusual path, the Romans were able to conquer Veio. Therefore it is said that the Romans began to dug the emissary of Lake Albano, a tunnel length of 1800 meters, which caused the lowering of water levels. . Later, Marco Furio Camillo was able to conquer Veio.

BRACCIANO LAKE THE MONSTER IN THE LAKE On Lake Bracciano for centuries there is the widespread belief of the existence of a monster that lived tens of meters deep and tore the nets of fishermen. In fact, it was discovered that the lake, in its waters contained the mystery of the legendary city of “Sabate,” submerged after an earthquake upheaval. Hence the name given to Lake Sabate, Sabatia Stagna, Sabatinus, etc. Recently, in La Marmotta, about three hundred meters from the shore of the lake and forty feet deep, was found a prehistoric village belonging to the Neolithic, the stone structure of which has a conical shape with a diameter of about thirty feet. In the village was found ceramic material (bowls, vases, etc.) and a canoe, currently housed in Anguillara near the train station.

Poetry Magma by Maria Lanciotti

Urla la pietra Il silenzio ardente Il male che la morde.

Libri fatali Arsi nei fondali Memoria verticale Di polveri e diamanti Scagliati nella nebbia Con immenso boato.

Fonde nel segreto Balsamo e veleno Strappano veli ai cieli Vapori ribollenti.

Non riflette la pietra Miracoli di luce.

Abbraccio d’acqua e fuoco Rocciosa serpe freme Oscura grotta illumina Con le sue scaglie d’oro Reclusa senza uscita Si torce nel suo odio

Dita rapaci Sgranano detriti Bocca serrata Rimastica preci

Meteoriti e sogni Volano radenti

Frecce sibilanti Sfiancano il gigante Sgorga dai suoi fianchi Il flusso del dolore Di chi non può morire Senza prima capire.

S’alza la pira Squarcia nubi e dubbi S’aprono orizzonti Di rilucente pianto.

Nella ferita penetra Il lampo della vita.

Fiaccola nella tenebra Accende selve e fonti Spezza la solitudine La brezza del torrente Propiziatoria offerta Placa sconforti e ire.