The story I am going to tell you in this weekly post is the one of Guendalina Malatesta, born as the daughter of Ugolinuccio di Montebello and Costanza Malatesta.
The tale says that little Guendalina was born albino around the year 1370. At that time, albinos were considered having the mark of Satan. Fearing the superstition, and the reaction of the people, not to mention the risk for the very lives of those people, they were kept hidden for their whole life. The same happened to Guendalina Malatesta, whose parents tried to keep her away from everyone outside the castle.
The story goes on telling that she was regularly followed by two guards, to avoid that anything happened to her. Despite this, during the summer solstice, the 21st of June 1375, Guendalina was playing with a rag ball together with her two guards. During their play, the ball rolled away, down the stairs that lead to the 'nevaio,' which was an underground storage where the ice was kept to preserve food that was easy to decay (a sort of nowadays fridge).
She followed the ball down to the storage door and disappeared. The guards followed her, but she was never found, not alive or dead. She simply disappeared.
Now, one thing to be noted is that by the popular folklore, the day of the solstice has a powerful magic meaning. It is the day where the doors between the underworld and the real world might be opened and by sacrificing an albino virgin to one or another deity would have granted the members of the sect unusual powers. One of the many superstitions available within humanity...
The most accredited theory is that she might have been abducted with the help of the two guards and sacrificed during one rite.
Some rumors say that she can be heard playing or calling her mother for help, every five years during the summer solstice, but this is something I cannot guarantee.
What I can guarantee is how worthwhile is to pay a visit to the castle of Montebello.
Located close by San Marino between the Marecchia and Uso River in the region of Emilia Romagna in Italy, represent one of the best preserved medieval castles.
Likewise all the fortresses it has a very long and exciting history (ghosts apart). The first construction of the castle is from the Roman age, and it was a square base tower that is nowadays included inside the structure of the castle.
The first documented owner was of the year 1186 when the castle was sold by the family Mataldone to the family of Malatesta.
After this, the castle went through an intense rebuilding particularly concerning the building of the fortified walls, as it was neighbored by the Montefeltro family, ancient enemies of the Malatesta.
In the year 1393, the castle was conquered by the Montefeltro family, but in 1438, Pandolfo Malatesta was able to get it back and owned it until 1464, when the fortress thanks to the intervention of the Pontifical Army, was conquered by the actual owners the counts Guidi di Bagno.
Just like for many other destinations, I cannot tell you how enjoyable is the place and the nature surrounding it. If you are going to visit Italy, you might take your chance and pay a visit to the many castles and particularly to those who have a ghost in it!!
As usual, I wish you an awesome weekend, Stay tuned for new adventures of the Wandering Writer.
