Description of the attraction
Monte Vettore is a mountain located on the border of the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche. It is part of the Sibillini mountain range and is part of the Monti Sibillini National Park. Today this peak is very popular among mountaineers and rock-climbers - people go to conquer it from the town of Norcia in Umbria or from Ascoli Piceno in the Marche.
Just below the top of Monte Vettore, in a small closed valley at an altitude of 1940 meters above sea level, there is Lake Lago di Pilato, in the waters of which, according to legend, none other than the repentant Pontius Pilate was buried. According to another local legend, it was in these mountains that the mythical soothsayer Sibylla from the Apennines was doomed by God to eternal wandering in anticipation of the Day of Judgment for not recognizing the humble Jewish virgin as the Mother of God and rebelling. The peak of Monte Vettore, surrounded by reddish cliffs, has been named the crown of Regina Sibylla.
Another Christian legend tells that Sibylla settled in the underworld, the entrance to which was in a cave in the mountains of Norcia. A nearby small lake feeds the waters from this very cave, and it is believed that those who stay there for more than a year will become immortal and ageless and will feast forever.
The locals have always revered Sibylla as a kind fairy, whose retinue from time to time went down from the mountains to the villages and taught girls to sew and spin, and Sibylla herself allegedly danced Saltarella with the most beautiful guys. Before dawn, the fortuneteller with her retinue had to return back to the cave, since otherwise they would again become mere mortals. It is said that once, during a festival, the fairies forgot about the time and did not notice the approach of dawn. Throwing themselves into the mountains, they began to climb Monte Vettora and in their haste they literally crushed several rocks into small pieces. Fortunately, the fairies managed to return to the cave before the sun rose, and the long talus left by them with debris of rocks is still called the Path of the Fairies - Sentiero delle Fate.
