Legend of the Grotta del Toro
Street View (if present)
Description

Legend of the Grotta del Toro

It is said that near the street called "di li aranci" (of the oranges), the road that connects Villalba to Vallelunga, there is a cave where it is possible, in a particular day, month and year and hour, to make appear, by dint of magic formulas and without ever naming the name of God, of the Madonna, and of the Saints, a great bull and transforming it into a statue of pure fine gold. Two companions, having become aware of the magical ritual and the period in which it could be carried out, agreed and went to the cave on the evening of the appointed time. One of the two buddies was brave, while the other was decidedly fearful. When the night was already quite late and the darkness was very dense (there was not even the moon to illuminate the surrounding countryside) the magic formulas began to chant. At midnight, suddenly, a large, angry bull appeared in a great reddish light. The ritual continued for hours and hours, with great effort and enormous fear, waiting for the dawn. The cronies knew that at first light the bull would turn gold. But just before dawn came, the frightened friend, exhausted by the sleepless night and convinced that he could not make it, let out an invocation: "Saint Joseph, help me!". At that, the bull disappeared and the two remained dry beaked. (Web source, author: anonymous)

Places indicated in the IWB register of the Sicily Region (Places of Identity and Memory) - Sector "Places of Plutonic legends and treasures"

  • Grotto in Via delle Arance (between Villalba and Vallelunga, prov. Caltanissetta)

 

Visit Sicilian Intangible Cultural Heritage database  to learn about other intangible assets

Visit Data Maps Heritage: Set of databases of the Sicilian Cultural Heritage to know other databases (nature, baroque, archeology, material assets and much more)

Rate it (1 to 5)
3.405
Send a notice to the publisher
[contact-form-7 id="18385"]
Share