Hebrew-English Guide to Soncino

57 THE LEGENDS The darkness was fallen on the countryside of Soncino, when the rain began to descend intensely breaking the night silence. In a short time the dusty roads first became so muddy to make the journey impractical with any means of transport. Even a cart pulled by two oxen was forced to stop in a neighbouring area of the village. The joy of the extraordinary victory achieved by the coalition of Guelph troops against the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano was already in the air; the community was only waiting for the arrival of the egregious prisoner, wounded and captured by Giovanni Turcazzano, a knight from Soncino. The drops in the puddles became more sparse and the clouds now receded leaving space for the luminous full moon. The cart started marching again. Wrapped in the blankets and with the bandaged wounds of his neck, Ezzelino complained of pain and the goal became closer. “Open, the knights have arrived!” a voice echoed in the middle of the night for the whole village. The heavy drawbridge lowered and the carriage entered. The people became stunned and speechless when they saw Ezzelino on a small wooden litter wrapped in filthy blankets. Although his wounds and fatigue made him like an innocent and harmless old man, his terrible gaze was still able to spread fear. He was led into a cell of the bell tower. The following morning, as a pale sun timidly entered the cell, Ezze- lino heard the tolling of the bells ringing in a festive way. Shaken by tremors of rage, he crawled to the door to ask the guard for an explanation of the din of the shouting songs coming from outside. He was told that the reason for this chaos was his capture and death sentence. In hearing these words, having regained the ardour of the past, he tore the bandages off and ripped the wounds dying bled rather than being led to the gallows and to the scorn of the people. Somewhere in Soncino there is still his long sought and never found burial but … this is another story.