Hebrew-English Guide to Soncino

53 THE LEGENDS (according to the tradition and free interpretation) THE MONSTER TARANTO OR TARANTASIO The waters of the lake Gerundo, when the wind blew impetuously and the storms shook the sky, came to beat with impetuous waves against the southern walls of the village of Soncino. On foggy days no one dared approach its shores, everything was shrouded in mystery. Its dark waters frightened the inhabitants. It seemed to take shape, on the surface of the water, where mists and vapors melted, a monstrous being that the people had identified as an exceptionally large dragon and called Taranto. Where did this cruel and terrifying “beast” come from? According to the tradition, from the only place that could have generated it: the sepulcher of the tyrant Ezzelino III from Romano. The remains of a bad and cruel man had given life to an evil dragon. The dragon fed on fish, animals, trees, bushes, herbs and ... human beings. How many disappearances occurred, how many woodsmen, fishermen and children had disappeared in the waters of the lake. Those who lived near Lake Gerundo, desperate and terrified, prayed