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| THE
CUPA BABY |
| A young farmer, upon returning from his farm, was riding
his donkey near the Cortino brook, in the Cupa area. |
| The only sounds to be heard were the young man’s singing
and the noise of the donkey’s hooves. All of a sudden,
the farmer heard sobbing; under some bushes he discovered
a child. |
| He picked the child up to calm her down, but as he held
her, the child got heavier, to the point that he had to put
her back down. When he bent over to pick her up again, he
noticed that the child’s features had become monstrous
and was laughing derisively. |
| The farmer believed it was a demon and took to his heels.
The following day the young man fell ill with a high fever
that forced him to stay in bed. |
| There are two more anecdotes about the “Cupa child”. |
The first tells how some men, after capturing
her, noticed a heavy growth of hair on her face. |
The second tells how some men, after capturing
her, were being urged by some men standing by to throw her
down the Pascone ravine. |
| However, they were unable to do so once they noticed some
crosses on the child’s booties. Even nowadays the expression
“you’re like the Cupa child” describes a
small person who is very heavy and hyper. |
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| THE
WEREFOLF |
| According to legend, being born on Christmas Eve was the equivalent
of imitating and offending Christ, and therefore one was doomed
to being a werewolf. |
| Women who gave birth on Christmas Eve wept over the sad fate that
sooner or later would befall their children, whose destiny would
be to wander at night in an unconscious state, rolling over in mud
puddles and in sewers, emitting inhuman shrieks. |
| Whoever came across a werewolf would meet with grave misfortune,
provided he pierced his skin to make him bleed, and thus render
him harmless. |
| These legends were often revived by people with ulterior motives,
like thieves and presumed werewolves, who thus were able to threaten
and take advantage of people’s fears so that they could dominate
them. |
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| SAINT
MARK’S MILKY WAY |
| St. Mark’s Milky Way was the popular designation for the
constellation of stars forming what is now called “the milky
way”. |
| According to legend, Saint Mark had stolen some straw, but the
sack containing it ripped open, letting the straw spill out along
the way. |
| In order to show that every sin leaves a trace, God made all signs
of theft indelible by creating a trail of innumerable stars. |
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| THE
VISCIGLITE CAVES |
| The story is told of a man named La Francia who found out that
in the Visciglite caves there was a treasure guarded by demons. |
| He decided to get hold of it, even if it meant reciting prayers
to scare away the demons guarding the treasure. Along with two other
men, he went to the spot. |
| However, when they got there, instead of the demons, the threesome
found a group of pranksters who gave them a sound trashing. |
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| Other legends deal with a madman who kidnapped children, the “evil
spirits” (ghosts covered with sheets, who came out at night
to wreak havoc with homes and fields), and the “maranghin”
who came out of wells to frighten anyone who came close. |
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