{"id":2124,"date":"2019-08-10T15:19:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T13:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fontecesia.it\/?p=2124"},"modified":"2019-08-10T15:19:53","modified_gmt":"2019-08-10T13:19:53","slug":"the-legend-of-sibyl-and-the-cave-of-the-fairies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fontecesia.it\/en\/stories-legends-umbria\/the-legend-of-sibyl-and-the-cave-of-the-fairies\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legend of Sibyl and the Cave of the Fairies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Sibillini Mountains<\/strong> that stretch between Umbria and the Marche, are a mountain range named after Mount Sibilla<\/strong>, particularly famous for the fact its peak is home to the\u00a0cave<\/strong>\u00a0of the same name which, according to legend, is the home or shelter of Sibilla, the\u00a0Apennine Sibyl<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This mythological figure is at the centre of several stories and popular beliefs: fascinating and mysterious, over the centuries she has been described and recounted in many different ways, leading to suggestions that still arouse interest and curiosity to this day.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Apennine Sibyl<\/h2>\n

The Apennine Sibyl, also known as\u00a0Sibilla Picena<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0Sibilla di Norcia<\/strong>, has been a character of the folklore since medieval times. She is described as a\u00a0sorceress<\/strong>\u00a0or fortune teller<\/strong>, the queen of an\u00a0underground world<\/strong>\u00a0that you enter through a cave named after her. Some of the tradition describes her without any negative connotations, like a\u00a0fairy<\/strong>, an expert of medicine and astronomy, or a\u00a0priestess\u00a0who offers prophecies and sees the future. Her\u00a0prophecies\u00a0<\/strong>were expressed in a twisted and complex language, making them very often difficult to interpret. While some of the popular stories that have been handed down to date depict her as a negative character, a witch\u00a0or even a rival of the Virgin Mary<\/strong>\u00a0and for her very demon-like essence, was isolated and imprisoned in a cave.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cave and the queendom of Sibyl<\/h2>\n

Sibyl is also known for the stories and legends about her\u00a0queendom<\/strong>\u00a0that can be accessed from the\u00a0cave of Mount Sibilla, of which only a mound of rocks hidden by thick vegetation remains today.<\/p>\n

This cave<\/strong> is also called the\u00a0Grotta delle Fate (Cave of the Fairies<\/strong>)\u00a0because Sibyl is often described as being surrounded by these female characters: beautiful, draped in loose clothing to cover their\u00a0goat hooves, that helped them easily navigate the mountains, but had to be kept strictly hidden from humans.<\/p>\n

According to legend<\/strong>, the fairies would\u00a0only come out at night\u00a0and would go back to the cave before dawn to avoid being banished from the queendom. In the darkness they would go to Pilato Lake<\/strong> and the surrounding villages, they would teach young women the art of spinning wool and they would meet young shepherds.<\/p>\n

This belief is therefore intertwined with stories of cursed love stories<\/strong>: the men who met these fairies would be taken away from their world and forced to live for eternity in Sibyl’s queendom<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These figures became the object of the preachings of\u00a0priests and monks and were often demonised, so the stories of these evil and enchanting beings became part of the narrative which, for several centuries, justified burnings at the stake, hangings and torture.\u00a0
\nThere are two main works in literature that talk about the Legend of Sibyl, both date back to the fifteenth century: \u201cLa Salade\u201d<\/strong> by Antoine de la Sale and \u201cIl Guerrin Meschino (Wretched Guerrin)\u201d<\/strong> by Andrea da Barberino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Sibillini Mountains that stretch between Umbria and the Marche, are a mountain range named after Mount Sibilla, particularly famous for the fact its peak is home to the\u00a0cave\u00a0of the same name which, according to legend, is the home or shelter of Sibilla, the\u00a0Apennine Sibyl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n