The story of the monachello, an all-Italian tale. Our villages, the Italian woods, the most hidden meanders of our beloved Country, in the true sense of the term, teem with ancient legends. Often tales with a charm full of emotions to be rediscovered. There are hundreds of stories, now almost all absorbed by oblivion, that characterize our Italian spirit.
The tales of the hearth, a book to be read
The Sila woods represent an extraordinary container of accounts, the so-called fairy tales of the hearth, handed down orally from the generations. The focolare is the real, unwritten book of a time that is now gone, a time that we want our readers to savor again in all its nuances.
During the harsh winters, the grandfather around the warmth of the fireplace told anecdotes, often full of mystery and at the same time of charm. The "monachello" is certainly one of the best known legends in all of Italy. With unusual facets, this story still travels throughout the plateau today. We find some traces of this story also in Trentino, obviously with different versions of the story and also in Norway and Sweden.
Once upon a time there was the legend of the nun
A small being infested the stone houses and the Italian woods. According to some reconstructions, it was a child in a long monk's dress and a hat, presumably, pointed on his head. The legend places this creature in the cold winter nights and in the darkness of the night hours. Screams, teasing, strange noises, these are the pillars of our adventure in the world of Italian fairy tales.
Screams, teasing and strange noises
The "monachello" went out at night to cause fear and fear in families and villages. The stories speak of a strange hat, a kind of good luck charm, and at the same time of misfortune. For enterprising people to be able to grab this hat, very strong in symbolism, represented the possibility of obtaining easy riches. Obviously the episodes of suggestion are the winning formula of this information, framed in contexts, in breathtaking locations, all to be discovered. The journey into the world of fairy tales continues from North to South.