Erasmus+ Coded legends activity

1. The witch of Vesuvius

2. This is a legend,
passed down orally,
about a witch. The
legend took place in
1858 after a big
eruption of the
volcano Vesuvius and
the lava filled an
ancient impassable
ditch.

3. Legend says that after
the magma emission
of 1858, for some
obscure reason, the
inhabitants of the
entire Vesuvian area
began to hear a
terrifying cry. A
lacerating cry that
seemed to be emitted
by a person suffering
from unspeakable
suffering.

4. The nocturnal
quietness of these
people became a
memory from the
moment when the
scream repeated
itself, puntal and
spooky, every night.

5. Some local farmers,
terrorized and
worried, decided to
join forces and scour
the area to find the
cause of the cry that
made their sleep
impossible. After
scouring the area
they realized that
their effort had been
in vain because they
could not find
anyone.

6. After a careful
reflection, they
decided to call on a
witch who lived on
the slopes of
Vesuvius, the "old
Mattavona". After she
had pronounced some
incomprehensible
archaic formulas, the
terrible scream
stopped.

7. Thanks to this
prodigious event it
was again possible to
sleep peacefully at
the slopes of
Vesuvius.

8. It is interesting to
notice that this
legend has been
taken from Mickey
Mouse comics (in
fact, the famous
witch Amelia lives
right on the slopes of
Vesuvius and has the
typical figure of the
Mediterranean
woman) and…

9. …in the animated film
"Totò Sapore and the
magic story of pizza ",
where the story of a
young Neapolitan
storyteller who lived in
the mid-eighteenth
century is told. In the plot
there is Vesuvia, a witch-
like entity that lives
inside the Vesuvius,
completely covered with
incandescent magma,
which, thanks to its
powers, is able to cause
volcanic eruptions.

10. Students in 5th grade–primary school and students in 1st C grade– middle school