November, with its dark colours and long nights, bears a strong Gothic connotation. Halloween is the perfect occasion to explore five mysterious sites in Lazio. If you do not believe in demons, inexplicable deaths, ghosts, anathemas, and Knights Templar, you should arm yourselves with courage and uncover these gruesome mysteries!
The pact with the devil about the Vulci Bridge
Devil’s Bridge at the Badia Castle
In the “Parco Archeologico Naturalistico di Vulci”, Lucifer still haunts the dark woods and winding river under the Devil’s Bridge. According to legend, he accepted the request to help building the magnificent bridge, in exchange for the soul of the first living being who would have crossed it. But those who had made the deal made an animal cross the bridge and the naive Lucifer was deceived, so much that, overwhelmed by his anger, he threw himself into the river. True or not true, “man is always as shrewd as the devil “, says the proverb… find out more
The ghost of the Signoraccia in the Castle of Sambuci
Theodoli Castle in Sambuci
The Theodoli Castle in Sambuci is haunted by la Signoraccia, the ghost of a servant and guardian of a secret treasure. The beautiful woman was about to get married, but the Marquis of the Castle shattered her dream availing himself to the Jus Primae Noctis. The groom to be attempted to kill the Marquis but died, and the girl, desperate, died soon after, swearing eternal revenge against the nobleman. Since then, the ghost of La Signoraccia is hovering inside the Theodoli Castle, and nobody has ever found the treasure… find out more
The magical sword in the Rock of the Templars on Mount Terminillo
The Sword in the rock in Cinque Confini on Mount Terminillo
On the Terminillo Mount you will find a sword stuck in the rock, a reference to the medieval legend of the Cinque Confini. The story has nothing to do with King Arthur but narrates of five heroic Knights Templar, who were fleeing from the King of France. Hopeless and exhausted from the cold, the faithful knights decided, against the Templar rules, to disperse into the mountains. One of them, Guy La Roche, before leaving, plunged his sword into the rock “pe’ guardia a lo monte e nullo homo tolga” (may the sword protect the Mountain, and no one dares to touch it!). Today, in fact, the sword is still there! find out more
The witch swallowed up by the Fossa Juanna in the Aurunci Mountains
Fossa Juanna – Photo of Park Monti Aurunci
The Fossa Juanna in Spigno Saturnia, a large sinkhole at 1300 metres at the foot of Mount Petrella in the “Parco Naturale dei Monti Aurunci”, is home to a macabre legend. It is said that a certain Juanna, or Joanna, remembered as a loose woman or a sorceress, died here in a horrible way. She was tied to a tree and burned alive by the brigands for having revealed where their lair in the Aurunci Mountains was located. find out more
The child’s body in the Castle of Fumone
Castello Longhi de Paoli in Fumone
In the grounds of the Castello Longhi De Paolis in Fumone, a glass urn preserves the disturbing embalmed body of Francesco Longhi Caetani. The heir of the Castle inexplicably died in the nineteenth century at five years of age. His mother, the Marquise Emilia Caetani Longhi, loved her only male son so much, that her seven daughters were jealous of him and did not want to give up the inheritance in favour of their brother. Did the young Marquis die of disease or maybe not? find out more