Scarica qui il disegno del drago

Il disegno del drago Tarantasio è riprodotto da Veronica Rovaris, dall’originale del 1640 di Ulisse Aldrovandi, negli scritti di “Serpentum et Draconum Historiae”.

Oggi vi lascio un lascito da raccontare ai vostri figli, che ho scoperto nelle mie ricerche per le province di Bergamo e Milano: la leggenda del Drago Tarantasio.

Una storia che non tutti conoscono, nemmeno per me è mai stata raccontata e ha origine durante il Medioevo nelle nostre amate terre. Sotto la forma della storia e non di un articolo, questa è la storia del Drago Tarantasio raccontata da me, sopra puoi anche scaricare la pagina da colorare, per i tuoi bambini!

“LA FAVOLA DI RACCONTO DEL DRAGO DI TARANTASIO “

Una volta, nel mezzo del Medioevo, tra Castelli e Cavalieri, un corpo idrico, o meglio una palude putrida, in cui scorrevano i fiumi Adda di Milano e Brembo di Bergamo. Questo era il lago Gerundo e si estendeva alle terre cremonesi, toccando numerosi paesi e province.

Si dice che dalla carne del leader morto, Ezzelino da Romano, nacque un terribile Drago: era lungo, di corporatura importante, con due ali, sei zampe con lunghi artigli, una lunghissima coda che si arrotolava su se stessa e mascelle con denti molto affilati! L’armatura era una pelle spessa e verdastra come il colore del lago stesso, una palude che si potrebbe dire dal colore delle sue acque. Ho quasi dimenticato! Aveva anche un respiro pestilenziale, così puzzolente che l’odore si sentiva nei dintorni e sembrava diffondere un’influenza chiamata la Peste Gialla.

The Dragon spent his days smashing with his teeth, the boats that tried to get to the city of the islet: the city of Crema. Certainly some boats had managed to escape the fearsome Tarantasio Dragon, as there were still survivors on the islet! But what was worse is that the dragon ate people and more small children who approached the lake to play.

“This dragon must be defeated!” the inhabitants of the neighboring countries shouted.

A fearless, Ulysses Aldrovandi (born in 1522/1605), a man with a long beard and a scholar of Animals and Nature, came so close to Tarantasio, to have great courage, to make a drawing so that he could publish it in his book of “Serpenti e Draghi” from 1640!

So it was that one day it was decided that the Dragon should be killed by a brave knight and certainly of brave young men in armor there were many in the provinces of Bergamo and Milan. But who could be so brave to face it?

So it was that they were called San Cristoforo to dry up the waters of Lake Gerundo, so that the Dragon died in the absence of water, San Colombano from Ireland arrived at the Court of the Lombard King Agilulf who told him to face the monster, and then again the fearsome Knight Federico Barbarossa but the real hero was … to know it you have to keep reading the story!

A brave and noble Knight from Milan arrived along the shores of Lake Gerundo: his name was Uberto Visconti.

A thick metal armor enveloped him, he wore a large helmet on his head and in his hand a long spear to hit the monster! He approached the shores of the lake: an incredible stench came under his nose.

“Where are you unclean Dragon! Tarantasio come out!” cry out Uberto.

Nothing moved, the lake waters were still and calm. Riding on his trusty horse, the rider began to gallop along the shores of the lake, until he reached a place where nature had taken over the banks: weeds and long branches of the trees launched into the murky waters.

At a certain point you felt an acrid and intense smell, so bad that it made him vomit. He turned and took a hit! The huge Dragon Tarantasio was approaching and his pestilential breath preceded him! It was really huge! His tail was stirring and the lake too.

When he was near the Knight Uberto, he opened his mouth wide to eat him but Uberto was faster and more astute. He patted his brave horse and said to him: “Let’s go meet this monster, my trusted friend and weave our Glories!”. The horse took charge and approached Tarantasio, Uberto with a powerful shot sank the spear in the side of the Dragon who opened his jaws, screaming in pain and showing his huge teeth that made the Knight shiver.

A huge yellow cloud rose in the air.

The Tarantasio dragon died, hit in the heart and sank in the waters of the lake. Victorious The Knight Uberto Visconti went to the neighboring countries to tell the story. The inhabitants did not believe it until the body of the Dragon was pulled out, with great effort, from the lake.

The bones were divided between the various towns of Bergamo and Milan, still preserved in several chapels including that of the Paladina Monastery, on top of the hill and one also in Verona, under the Arco della Costa near Piazza delle Erbe . The rest of the body was buried under the islet of Achilles to the right of the bridge over the Adda in Lodi, in front of the Napoleon Bonaparte bridge.

The Knight Uberto then rode in all the countries and provinces announcing the victory and so that no one would forget his undertaking and the Tarantasio Dragon, he had the monster with his jaws wide open while eating a child sculpted in his coat of arms. long by all the inhabitants and glorious he returned to Milan with his trusted friend horse! Over the centuries it was remembered!

END.

You can now download the coloring page for kids here for free.

Curiosity

The Visconti coat of arms is recurrent in Milan and in the various possessions and castles also in Bergamo, you can also see the dragon on the fountains in the parks, or carved on the portals of the houses. There is also a town called Taranta (from the name of the dragon Tarantasio) in the Cassano D’adda area, and its “della Bissa” streets are reminiscent of the perfidious biscione of Lake Gerundo.

While a wall more than three meters high was erected in Calvenzano to protect yourself from the monster and at the lowest point of the river that flanks the Castle, you can recognize the lowest point of Lake Gerundo.

La leggenda ha certamente numerose fonti veritiere che suggeriscono l’esistenza esistentemente un mostro: probabilmente un coccodrillo importato da terre esotiche, nonché uno storione, un pesce, di dimensioni enormi, per essere scambiato per un pericoloso serpente.

Per quanto riguarda il Lago Gerundo sembra che in realtà fosse una zona paludosa, con un cattivo odore a causa delle acque malsane.

Se vuoi saperne di più, consulta il libro del 1640, del naturalista e botanico “ULISSE ALDROVANDI” di Wikipedia (a Scritti, SERPENTUM ET DRACONUM HISTORIAE) per gentile concessione della Biblioteca di Bologna, sua città natale.

Il disegno e la storia, elencati sopra, sono di Veronica Rovaris, resi disponibili gratuitamente, tuttavia è vietata la riproduzione a scopo di lucro.