Once upon a time there was a river called Musone. For centuries he has waken up in the Apennine mountains, from Monte San Vicino, and after a long road he has flown into the Adriatic Sea.
He remembered the Greeks who called him Misco and the Romans and there was a time that he even had boats on him! He remembered very vaguely that close to an abbey of San Vittore, a queen came to bathe naked in his river. This much to the dismay of the residents of the village nearby. So they encouraged their children to throw stones at the queen in the river. But the queen’s revenge was sweet, she had the village completely destroyed. But perhaps the river imagined this and was merely a legend?
Everything seemed so long ago … but one thing he knew for sure, that place remained an enchanted place. For it was said in a whisper that there was a golden cauldron with a treasure of gold somewhere in the neighborhood. Moreover, those who were out at night saw the shadows of 7 little pigs and if you listened carefully you could hear the sound of a loom …
But one memory dug deep into the Musone’s memory over the years: the shouting children playing in the summer splashing each other wet and the adults seeking the coolness and shade along the banks. But to his great sorrow, that clearly belonged to a distant past, because no one could still reach the enchanted banks, after all they were completely covered with brambles and bushes.
Nobody saw his grief about this because his thick tears constantly melted with the eternal rippling water …..
Until one day Musone heard voices, no.. they not those coming from the road or the bridges, instead they were much closer: “How nice it would be if the children could play in the water here again as we used to and that the coolness of the shadow could return to the banks… “. It was not limited to voices because soon the noise of brushcutters, secateurs, hard-working people came along with them…
Are they not right? Yes, much to the joy of the river, a passable path to the banks was gradually created again, a free passage along it ….
This did not go unnoticed in the fairytale world and soon elves and gnomes and animals too came back to what once was a magical place!
During the day they were very lazy but at night they turned out to be very active creatures … what an enrichment when a water mill provided lighting!
All the joy and magic atmoshpere that was created again is a big result of the enthusiasm of the group of volunteers who made all this possible in barely 2 years! Because in 2018 they started the clearance works and already in 2020 countless families enjoyed this enchanted place.
Elke and Isabelle could only confirm this when theyvisited the initiators by the river for an interview.
Franco and Claudia 
Stefano and Isabelle 
Loris and Eleonora 
We soon learned that the collaboration was not just limited to this group, but that their enthusiasm had ignited the entire community of San Vittore. Many of them made a nice contribution to the realization of an unforgettable place as far as possible. Some also discovered certain talents in them, such as the newly retired baker Ettore of the village who now turned out to be the carpenter, numerous wooden figures saw the light of day under his skilful hands.
Ettore, the baker / carpenter
The pupils of the high school in Cingoli also produced a booklet with the results of their research work on San Vittore and the surrounding area. In addition, a day was organized around the washing of the clothes as it used to be done by the river.
We really enjoyed the fun figures and sometimes we saw children knocking on the doors, who knows the elves were home and would they come out for a moment?
Elke and Isabelle did not get bored and the child in them reacted enthusiastically at the sight of all those fairytale characters! Not even a staircase leading to the golden treasure had been forgotten.
The fairies and gnomes and the other residents were also delighted with new ideas and they were welcome in the suggestion box at the entrance.
Yet people are still far from dreaming; so we hear that an extension is planned, for this they want to free a bamboo forest from the weeds.
Which they have now started. The bank still needs to be cleared of weeds and the most prestigious project is the project to make the enchanted river part of a cultural / historical route from the river to the remains of the old abbey and the remains of the Roman municipium that once was here… but that’s for another article.
Would you also like to be enchanted? Click here to find the correct location. Parking is a little further than the entrance, on a pasture in summer and opposite the local bar in low season.
In the bakery / adjoining grocery shop you will find the tastiest sweets, according to the baker / carpenter also the best cavallucci in the region. We were allowed to taste cookies and biscuits from the grape must … Buonissimo!
We would like to thank the enthusiastic team who gave us a warm welcome and gave us an unforgettable afternoon:
Grazie mille a tutti :
in the photo above from left to right: Stefano Filonzi, Claudia Grasselli (Stefano’s wife); Franco Stoppart, Eleonora Compagnucci, Loris Bolzonì (partner of Eleonora); Ettore Compagnucci.
Other active members: Erina Iencenella, Virginio Compagnucci, Chiara Trombettoni, the young Riccardo Spadoni.
And of course grazie to the original inhabitants who first lived here:
You can follow the progress on their Facebook page!
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