{"id":15913,"date":"2018-03-16T12:19:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T11:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=15913"},"modified":"2018-03-16T17:14:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T16:14:43","slug":"the-haunted-castle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/the-haunted-castle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Haunted Castle"},"content":{"rendered":"

What would a medieval castle be without its ghost? Boring!<\/span><\/p>\n

But if you feel the need to have a ghost in your castle … at least come up with an original story.<\/p>\n

Geoff’s Patent Original Formula For Castle Ghost:<\/span>
\nThe ugly psychopathic twin sister
\nThe hidden horde of Spanish gold
\nThe faithful adopted wolf
\nThe malicious mage
\nThe transvestite court jester
\nThe cruel dagger
\nThe tragic accident with a wishbone
\nThe strange and unexplained visitations<\/p>\n

Boring Generic Formula For Castle Ghost:<\/span>
\nThe beautiful daughter
\nThe handsome stable boy … obviously!
\nForbidden love
\nThe powerful, ruthless father
\nThe convent
\nThe pregnancy
\nThe torture chamber
\nThe cruel and unjust death
\nThe unidentified bones
\nThe suggestive stain on the ceiling (what?!)<\/p>\n

Now, guess which one they chose for il Castello Malaspina di Fosdinovo<\/strong>? My brilliant and original theme … or the boooring generic one?
\nYes, boring boring boring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Il Castello di Fosdinovo. Spot the ghost? Image by Geoff<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Well, as much as I’d love to elaborate on my amazingly original castle ghost story (film directors and book publishers feel free to contact me<\/em>) I feel duty bound to pad out the so called ‘true’ one. So … here we go:<\/p>\n

The beautiful daughter:
\nBianca Maria Aloisia, una giovane Malaspina che s\u2019innamora clandestinamente dello stalliere del castello.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stable boy … obviously!:
\nPerch\u00e9 lo stalliere? … perch\u00e9 ce n’\u00e8 sempre uno in queste storie … \u00e8 ovvio!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forbidden love:
\nIl padre, potente signore di Fosdinovo, annuncia a Bianca che \u00e8 stata promessa in sposa a un cavaliere dei dintorni … fin troppo ovvio …<\/strong><\/p>\n

The powerful, ruthless father:
\nQuando Bianca dichiara amore eterno allo stalliere, il suo ‘caro’ padre non pu\u00f2 accettare un tale disonore e la fa rinchiudere a vita monastica nel vicino convento … dove altro?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The convent:
\nComunque, Bianca continua ad avere appuntamenti clandestini con lo stalliere e in uno di questi rimane incinta … avete capito cosa combinavano quei ragazzi?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pregnancy:
\nLa poveretta \u00e8 allontanata dal convento e rispedita al castello dalle ‘gentili’ suore.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The torture chamber:
\nLo stalliere \u00e8 torturato ed ucciso mentre Bianca \u00e8 trascinata nelle prigioni del castello, dove la torturano con ferri arroventati e macchine diaboliche. La giovane, per\u00f2, mantiene ferma la sua volont\u00e0 e non rinnega il suo amore … ma quanto \u00e8 stupida questa?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cruel and unjust death:
\nAccecato dall’odio, il padre la condanna a morte … \u00e8 proprio stronzo questo!<\/strong>
\n Le guardie la buttano in una piccola stanza buia dove la legano con una catena che le permette di fare solo qualche passo, e l\u00ec dentro la murano viva.<\/strong>
\n E siccome il padre \u00e8 proprio una testa di C…., fa rinchiude con lei un cinghiale, simbolo di ribellione, e un cane, simbolo di fedelt\u00e0.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The unidentified bones:
\nQualche anno fa sono state ritrovate alcune ossa che, a quanto pare, appartengono ad una ragazza, e a due animali di specie diversa.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The suggestive stain on the ceiling:
\nWhen I was a child we had an abstract patterned linoleum flooring in our bathroom. Whilst sitting on the toilet staring at that flooring, human forms and faces, animals and mythical beasts would emerge from the swirling patterns at my feet. Some of these images were familiar, I’d see them time and again … some would appear as a one off during a particularly long session of … staring.
\nThe moral of my little childhood toilet tale: if you stare at abstract patterns for long enough you’ll begin to see familiar forms … it’s in our DNA!<\/p>\n

Hence, someone with way too much time on their hands spent far too much of it staring at the damp stains on the ceiling of the sala del trono<\/strong> in the Castello Malaspina di Fosdinovo<\/strong> where they made the amazing discovery that if you stare at the right spot for long enough in a certain light, perhaps squinting a bit, you can vaguely identify what could loosely be described as something somewhat resembling a lady’s face, a dog, a wild boar and a crown.<\/p>\n

Incredibile, ma vero!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can find my previous blogs in this series here:
\nItalian Curiosities \u2013 Part 1<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nItalian Curiosities \u2013 Part 2<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

What would a medieval castle be without its ghost? Boring! But if you feel the need to have a ghost in your castle … at least come up with an original story. Geoff’s Patent Original Formula For Castle Ghost: The ugly psychopathic twin sister The hidden horde of Spanish gold The faithful adopted wolf The…<\/p>\n

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