Hi there!
Today we are back in Angrogna, in Pellice Valley (Turin), for a history of witches and fairies … Are you ready for that? We are on the banks of the Vengie (a stream I already told you about a long time ago), where it is said that once inhabitants round here were awakened at night by terrible noises. No one ever dared to exit their home to see what it was, except for a young guy…
Along the Vengie, the young man saw a group of “mascoun” (sorcerers) trying to dig a culvert to divert the waters of the Angrogna river in order to make the inhabitants of the whole valley die of thirst. The head of the sorcerers was so strong that he could wield an entire old oak tree as if it were an axe! Meanwhile, the fairies who used to live in the nearby rocks were trying in all the possible ways to dissuade them from going on with their evil plans.
The land, however, collapsed and caved in, making the work of sorcerers slower. The witch doctors then proposed to the young boy a terrible deal: if people from Angrogna had offered three lives as a sacrifice necessary to complete the channel, the sorcerers would give them incredible riches. The young boy immediately (and foolishly) offered himself, and his brother (who had meanwhile reached him) did the same. But all of the other inhabitants were reasonably frightened and hesitant…
Finally the inhabitants paid attention to the fairies, who revealed the sorcerers’ evil plans and unmasked their deception, forcing them to give up the construction of the canal that would bring them only drought and misery, and no richness at all! …but you have to know that, even if the works stopped that night, a piece of the channel still exists, and that’s the Guieiza d’la Tana!
How to get here:
from Provincial Road 161, between Torre Pellice and Luserna San Giovanni, at the roundabout take the road to Angrogna. Follow the road and you’ll get to the main square of San Lorenzo, then continue for about 800 m and you will find on the right the sign “Torrente Vengie e Roccha Filera”. If you want, continue to the hamlet of Serre, turn right until the beginning of the trail with signs “Chanforan” and “Odin” and continue the walk up to the panels showing the Guieiza, then go down the stone steps and… sneak underground!
Do you want to read the tale in Italian ?