Warsaw Mermaid & Galiana
Warsaw Mermaid
The Most Popular Legend of the Warsaw Mermaid
One upon a time there were two twin mermaid sisters swimming along the Baltic Sea till they reached Gdansk (a city stituated near the sea). Then they decided to split and one went to Copenhagen (Denmark)and the other one decided to go down the Vistula River (The longest Polish river).
The mermaid was swimming and swimming and suddenly she found a place that impressed her a lot. She fell in love with the landscapes, nature and all things about that place. Because of its beauty she decided to stay there.
Days passed and a few fishermen noticed that there was something in the river that was releasing the fish they caught which made them really upset. At first, the fishermen decided to catch the mermaid, but then they fell in love with her beauty and with her singing.
Everything was perfect until one grumpy merchant hated the singing and the presence of the mermaid. He convinced other fishermen that the mermaid stole people’s souls and that it was dangerous for the city. Therefore, the mermaid had to be caught and brought to justice.
The grumpy merchant was able to catch the mermaid. A few days passed and the mermaid was crying continuously. One day a young fisherman heard the Mermaid’s cry, he asked his friends for help and they were able to release her from the prison she was living in.
After the mermaid was rescued, she was really grateful to them. Since that moment, the mermaid promised to help the people of the city whenever it would be needed. The mermaid started to wear a sword and a shield, and she was ready to protect Warsaw and its residents.
The Importance of the Warsaw’s Mermaid
The symbol of the Mermaid is really important for Warsaw, and we can confirm this by seeing the official Coat of Arms of Warsaw. Around the city, there are approximately 10 monuments of the mermaid, with the most popular ones located in the Main Square in Old Town, at the Vistula River bank and at the top of the Palace of Culture.
If you come to Warsaw for the first time don’t forget to take a picture with this magic Mermaid!
Here you can see some short films based on the legend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb7y_HiZy4g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THnu3bu2Ogw
THE BEAUTIFUL GALIANA
The medieval legend of the beautiful Galiana is very famous in the culture of the city of Viterbo, and comes from the myth of its foundation. The Trojan people arrived in the north of Lazio’s coast after the destruction of their city and founded Viterbo: a white sow showed the place where they had to build the new city. But every year they should sacrifice to the gods a young woman to be eaten up by a wild beast.
One day it was chosen a beautiful girl named Galiana. As she was so kind and beautiful, the population was really sad and upset. They took the young to the place of the sacrifice but, when Galiana was ready to be eaten by the wild beast, a lion came out from the woods and devoured the sow with four terrible bites, saving the young from her terrible destiny.
For gratitude the citizens made the Emblem of the city, with the image of the lion near the white skin of the sow with the four red spots of the wounds.
This episode increased the fame of the beautiful Galiana and a lots of knights arrived to the town to ask her to marry. But Galiana loved a young farmer called Marco and she refused every proposal.
Also Giovanni di Vico, a powerful nobleman from Rome, went to Viterbo to ask her as a wife. He saw the young girl coming out with a friend from the church of San Silvestro, went towards her and bowed, but Galiana did not even look at him. Offended for the refusal, he decided to kidnap the girl. So, in a dark night, Giovanni climbed with a rope to the window of Galiana's room.
But a lightning hit the bell of the Monaldesca tower, the highest Tower of Viterbo, which rang upon the city and woke up all the citizens. They ran to save Galiana and banished Giovanni di Vico from Viterbo.
After a while Giovanni marched with an army towards Viterbo threatening to besiege the city if Galiana didn’t marry him and, as the citizens refused, the nobleman attacked the city from the side of the Faul Tower, which was the weakest, and the fight began.
The women stood next to the armed men on the walls and one of them threw an arrow that hit Giovanni di Vico, wounding him badly. The Roman man told the people that he would leave if they showed him Galiana for the last time. He wanted to see her before leaving. She accepted and leaned from a louver of a castle but one of Giovanni’s soldiers hit her on the throat with an arrow and killed her. The citizens got angry and fought bravely to chase the Roman army. Someone said that also Giovanni died during the fight.
The girl was buried in a splendid tomb of white marble at the front of Saint Angel of Spatha church, with the story of the lion, the sow and the girl, sculpted in it. It is still there, to see, today, one of the most loved monuments of Viterbo.
Here you can see a show based on the legend and another video on Medieval Viterbo in which the legend is set. These videos could be useful to you: