II c TUR - SCHOOL TRIP TO PAVIA

SCHOOL TRIP TO PAVIA

Before Easter’s holidays, we went to Pavia for an English guided tour. The  guide told us five stories about the legends of Pavia’s ghosts.

The first story spoke of the “Ponte coperto” on the Ticino’s river, called “Bridge of the Devil” too. The legend says that this bridge was built by Tommaso, an inhabitant of this city. He failed the construction two times: during the day he built it, but during the night this bridge collapsed. At the third time he decided to stay on the bridge all the night and so he met the devil that promised him to  build the bridge if Tommaso  were the first one to cross it, because he wanted  Tommaso’s soul. Tommaso accepted, but the morning after he didn’t cross the bridge. He bought a goat and a cabbage, threw the cabbage on the bridge and, when the goat ran to catch it, the devil stole her soul.

 The second story spoke of the statue of “Muto dall’accio al collo” and said that this statue, that once  was a queen, was created by a fisherman. The legend narrates that a lot of years ago, the queen prohibited the princess to  love a fisherman, but he launched a magic fish-net to her neck and she drowned: this fish-net was magic because it petrified everything it touched; a lot of years later, the queen was found again.She was a statue with a fish-net around her neck. After the queen’s drowning, the two lovers escaped with the boat on the river, and they were never found again.

The third story spoke of the angel of Pavia. According to the legend, the white angel first came to the city of Pavia when the plague sent by God  manifested; he came to Pavia and cured everybody, but he had an antagonist, that was a red dressed demon, that knocked thehouse doors with his stick and killed the  people. The second time the angel reappeared to block the inundation. 

The fourth story spoke of a girl sent to live in a monastery  for all her life because she got sick. She became blind and, after some years spent in this monastery, she began to see with her mind: she forecasted the future.In the past the seers were called Sibilla, but she was little and, so, she was  called Sibillina. She didn’t stand who wanted to command other people and every time  someone asked her  how to become the boss of Pavia she answered always the same thing: “If you build the highest  tower in Pavia  you will become the town leader”.

Pavia was so called “The city of the 100 towers”but time after time these towers  fell down into pieces or were destroyed.

The fifth and last story spoke about a man called Fasolino. His job was to get bottles of wine and took them on a boat on the river Ticino. One day, Fasolino launched a coin into the hospital well and wished to die  because he was sick and old , but the well realized the opposite wishes and so he was condamned to live forever. He started again to work  but a day he got entangled with  his foot into a rope that held the boat, and he fell in the river; he couldn’t swim, therefore he drowned.