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Tuscan Legends: Fantastic Animals And Buried Treasures

By Stefano Becheroni

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Published: 17Feb2012
Word count: 880
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Tuscany has a long tradition of ancient legends. A land rich in history, full of churches and mediaeval towers once dominated by the mysterious Etruscan civilisation. The Tuscan countryside has always had a very strong relationship with myth. Obscure legends have been passed from grandfathers to nephews, one generation after the next, over centuries of long winter nights, when families would convene around the fireplace. In a society characterised by its strong bond with nature, animals were an essential part of their daily lives. It is no surprise that they feature as prominent characters of ancient histories and legends.

One of these animals in particular is the symbol of Chianti itself: the black rooster. This humble farm animal won its place in history during the Middle Ages, when the Republics of Siena and Florence fought against each other to ensure their control over today's Chianti area (an issue which even today burdens both cities). After many battles, Florentines and Senesi tried to find a less cruel way to come to an agreement. They decided that two soldiers would leave at dawn, one from Florence and one from Siena; their meeting point would represent the border between the two litigious Republics.

The Florentines, though, had an idea. Given that both soldiers were supposed to leave at the morning singing of a rooster, they chose a black rooster and left it unfed for several days. The day the soldiers left, the poor rooster was so hungry that he woke up earlier than usual in the morning and sang before dawn. The Florentine soldier left way earlier than his competitor and met him only a few kilometres away from the walls of Siena, close to a place called Castellina. This is how Florence took control over the entire region.

This is the reason why the black rooster became the symbol of the Chianti league, an agreement that bond the villages of the area (Radda, Gaiole, Castellina) to a common defence of the Republic of Florence. When, in 1924, the wine league of the Chianti Classico chose its symbol, the black rooster was an obvious choice.

Since then, the label representing the famous silhouette of the black rooster is the guarantee that the bottle that is about to be opened comes from this prestigious Tuscan area. The black rooster is the only animal to have been honoured with a statue in the major square of Greve in Chianti.

Speaking of roosters, if a hen lays a black egg on Christmas day, or if a rooster suddenly lays an egg, it is time to worry. The terrible Basilisco may be born from that egg! The prince of fantastic animals, quoted by Plinio in his 'Natural History', the Basilisco in Tuscany used to be called 'regulus snake', from the latin Regulus (small king). In some representations, the Basilisco had the head of a rooster, the body of a snake, the legs of a hawk and the ability to kill with its glare. For this reason, the best weapon to fight it was a mirror. By looking at its reflection, the animal would kill itself instantly.

After this sinister hybrid between reptiles and feathered animals, it is now worth mentioning poultry and the beautiful legend of the golden hen of King Porsenna.

Let's move a little further away from Tuscany, to Chiusi, a very ancient Tuscan city, where the King Porsenna is said to have been buried. The monarch had a great casket built and surronded by five pyramids accessing an immense labyrinth. Poresenna not only ordered that the golden hen be place next to his sarcophagus, but he also ordered to have it surrounded by five thousand chicks, also made of gold. The legend narrates that sometimes, at night, the hen and her chicks come out of the ground and light up the fields around the sarcophagus with a billion shimmering lights. What is true, though, is that Chiusi is indeed a little town full of galleries and underground labyrinths. As yet, though, despite much research and numerous excavations, neither the great Etruscan king or his golden and feathered friends have yet been found.

Have you had enough of poultry? Well, then you may like to take a tour of the old castle of Strozzavolpe, near Poggibonsi. Here, with a little bit of luck, you will see a golden fox that only appears during full moon. The legend narrates that it is the spirit of a fox walled in the castle as a consequence of a prophecy. An astrologist promised a castle keeper that the manor would last as long as the body of a fox that had been living in that area. Since then, every so often, the fox is seen running through the surrounding forests, but it's never been caught. As evidence of the fact that prophecies do sometimes come true, the castle is still there today!

Our brief journey of the imaginary Tuscan zoo ends with the story of the golden fox of Strozzavolpe, a surreal menagerie whose memory has been passed along these lands. Isolated and a little afar from the main cities, these lands have always maintained their ability to tell stories and to keep them alive.

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