@brittarnhild
The beautiful walled town of Lucca is situated less then 20 kms from where we spent our family week. I had read about the botanical garden, and when we drove in to explore the town one afternoon, I left the others for an hour. I couldn´t just pass the garden, could I?
The garden was a small one, and not especially amazing, but still I fell for it. You see, the garden has her own legend. The legend of Lucida Mani.
Here is the information I found:
Lucida Mansi was born in Lucca on March 7th 1606, into one of the richest and most powerful families in the Lucca area: the Saminiati. When she was still very young, she married Vincenzo Diversi, but soon she was widowed and then married the old and rich Gaspare di Nicolao Mansi.
Fully devoted to luxury and to an exciting life, she was adored, courted, and extremely proud of her looks; people said she was even hiding a mirror in her prayerbook.
So time went by thoughtless among parties ands lovers, till one morning, admiring herself in the mirror as usual, she noticed a light wrinkle on her extremely beautiful face. Lucida was desperate and wept bitter tears, till a handsome young man appeared in front of her. He was the Devil. He promised her thirty more years of youth, but after this time he would come back again to get his payment for this privilege: her soul. Lucida accepted with no hesitation, and the bonus years ran without any apparent ageing. But one summer afternoon, at the end of thirty years, the Devil came back to her. Lucinda turned desperate and prayed him to save her soul, but the Devil lugged her on his flaming carriage and, after a full tour on the City Walls to allow Lucca´s inhabitants to hear her harrowing screams, he sank with the chariot into this pond, the wonderful gem of the Botanical Garden.
The legend says that, if we dive in the pond, it is possible to see the face of Lucida Mansi sleeping in its depths. Besides, the same legend says that, just before midnight on every October 31st, in an absolute silence, a strong wind arises, a noise of horses´hooves resounds in the air and it is possible to glimpse the burning carriage sinking in the pond, launched in an unbriddled run towards the hell.
A lovely legend, isn´t it :-)
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Lucca is a walled medieval town. Well worth a visit, even without a tour in the garden.
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