The Ghost of Madonna Giselda
The Norman Castle of Naro is linked to the legend of the castellana of the castle. An ancient legend tells that Madonna Giselda, a castellan with black hair and sad blue eyes, fell in love with her own page Bertrando. On a full moon night, while Beltrando sang his love to her on the terrace, accompanying himself with the sweet notes of the lute, they were surprised by the jealous husband, Pietro Giovanni Calvello, then Lord of Naro, who killed and had Bertrando thrown from the high tower and he had Giselda locked up in a cold and dark cell. Even today, on clear autumn nights, a white ghost wanders on the terrace of the Castle: it is Madonna Giselda in search of her beloved Bertrando, while the poignant song of a nightingale keeps her company
And the people, remembering this tragic love story with moving imagination, still today tell of a white ghost of a woman who, in the clear moonlit nights, wanders madly on the ramparts of the castle in search of the beloved Bertraldo. And when he sits in the space of a battlements to contemplate creation, a nightingale rises from the underlying gardens and, following him, with melodious warbling sings a poignant and painful song.
Another version of the legend tells that the ghost of Giselda pursued the prince cursing him and following him everywhere. With each defeat, each mishap, Giselda appeared beside her, until the prince took his own life in desperation. Once Giselda avenged her death and that of her page, she returned to the castle of Naro to mourn her Beltrando. Even today on August 15th, only those who have lost their love can still see her and hear her crying under the moon.
Places indicated in the IWB register of the Sicily Region (Places of Identity and Memory):
- Naro Castle
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Audio Guide: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: web, Ignazio Caloggero
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Region of Sicily
