In Romagna, one such story has endured through
the centuries, shrouded in intrigue: the
legend of the ghost of Azzurrina.
This tale takes us back to 1375, when the Castle of Montebello, near Rimini, was
home to a girl named Guendalina Malatesta. As the daughter of the castle lord,
Guendalina was born with a rare and frowned-upon trait for that time: albinism. Her pale skin and white hair
sparked superstitions and fears; in an effort to hide her uniqueness, her
mother attempted to dye her hair black – but the natural dyes only turned it a pale blue, earning her the nickname
Azzurrina.
According to the legend, Azzurrina vanished without a trace on June 21, 1375,
while playing inside the castle. That day, under the watchful eyes of two
guards, she was chasing a rag ball through the corridors when she entered the
icehouse and never came out. Despite frantic searches, the girl's body was
never found.
From that moment on, it’s said that her spirit
never left the castle, and every
five years, on the summer solstice, her cries still echo through the halls.
In recent years, modern technology has tried to
shed light on this phenomenon. Paranormal enthusiasts and researchers have
captured strange sounds, indistinct noises, and what seems to be the cries of a
little girl - a mystery that remains unsolved but continues to forever link
Azzurrina to her homeland.