PLACES and TALES To tell stories is part of a primordial need, as man, differently from others living beeing, sees his own life in narrative terms: there’s a past a present and future to tell.

Since the biginning of 50s of last century, our ancestors spent their cold winter days sitting around the brazier.

Telling stories was really an art and for someone it was a job, they went to neighbours house in the evening to tell Stories and in return they received a reward.

Children looked forward to that moment, before they fell asleep.

BUT TODAY … telling stories, myths and legends has become more and more difficult… technology has facilitated the knowledge, but has diminished the moments in which chidren and adults can meet… Let’s discover the joy to listen to myths and tales linked to the places where we live…

Italy is full of places where-in mythological tales – gods, heroes and nymphs have been protagonists of terrific stories. Let’s turn our attention to rivers. Let’s place them and we’ll see the myth became real.

Let’s start from the South of Italy. Syracuse

ARETUSA SOURCE It’s a small pond in Ortigia isle in the ancient part of the town, where legend and reality meet.

The legend talks about Alfeo, son of God Ocean, who fell in love with the Nymphs Aretusa, spying her while she was having bath.

Aretusa didn’t return his love, so asked Artemis to help him to keep her far from him. The goddess wrapped Aretusa in a cloud coltr and trasformed her in a source of water by Ortigia’s beach

Alfeo, desperate, asked Zeus for help. He touched by his deep sorrow, transormed him in a river which coming from Greece, through Ionian sea, joined to the beloved Aretusa.

Let’s move to central Italy…

Tyber has always been considered a special river, a sort of bridge between past and future. On its shore some of the most important event of history have had place.

Tyber, called in ancient time “Albula” for its clear water, takes its name by the Latin king Tyberino, who drowned himself in the river. In the VIII part of Eneide god Tiberino, an old man dressed with a green –gray veil,crowned by canes, appears in dream to Enea and suggests him to go up the river to Palatino hill where Rome would have been risen.

… And at last the North of Italy

On the river Po many events had place, that have been handed down from generation to generation, transformed in myths and legends, as the one of Fetonte

Son of Apollo and of the nymph Climene, according to greek mythology, Fetonte was grown without knowing who his father was.When, finally, he knew the truth,the young boy left in search of Apollo. He arrived at his father’s Palace and revealed his identity. Apollo was happy to know him and promised he would have realized his keen desire. Fetonte asked to drive the chariot of the Sun for a day.

Apollo tried to discourage him but he didn’t managed to do it, so regretfully allowed him to drive the chariot. Apollo wasn’t so powerfull to drive the winged horses., lost the control and the chariot came too close to the earth, which burst. The earh shouted so loud that Zeus heard it and stopped Fetonte hitting him with a thunderbolt,

The boy rushed lifeless in the river Eridano, the Po. According to the legend, his sisters, run to the river bank and cried so much that the gods moved to pity, turned them into poplars.

Even mountains inspired man to invent myths and legends. Let’s place them…

SOUTH OF ITALY MOUNT ETNA The major volcano in Europe.

God Volcano,known also as Efesto, one day had an argument with Jupter and was thrown down from the Olympus.

After recovering from the falling, the god realized to be on a enchanted isle.

Since then Efesto lives inside this mountain and does the smith. This is why we can watch fire anf flames during the eruption.

MOUNT VESUVIO: It’s an explosive volcano in quiescence. Centre of Italy

A noble man of Naples, named Vesuvio, was in love with a girl, Capri, their love was contrasted by their families.

The girl forced by her parents to board on a ship going to a foreign land, threw herself into the sea.

The young Vesuvio, when informed of the accident, start crying tears of fire and was so desperate that turned into a mountainwhose bowels contains the fire of eternal love.

MOUNT WHITE whose shape is that of a majestic dome sparkling with ice.

Mount White used to arouse wonder but also real terror for the men who were approaching, so it was thought that its gorges were inhabited by devils, dragons, monsters and goblins.

One summer evening, a traveler climbed up there. Having received great hospitality he made sure that Heaven would buried the evil spirits that infested the mountain, in the ice.

The snow went down, purified the mount and imprisoned the wicked spirits...