Legend has it that it was once a green paradise and fairies protected the inhabitants of the Val Gerina valley in the Swiss Alps. However, driven by his greed to impress the woman, the son intended to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, and brought it all down to earth.
Deep in the Swiss Alps, where the mountains whisper archaic secrets and the wind carries the echoes of forgotten songs, there once existed a valley so green and lush that it seemed untouched by time and sadness. This was Val Gerina, a valley in the Alps near the Swiss-Italian border. In Italian sources it is also known as Valle Aurina.
It appears that the Val Gerina valley is located in San Vittore in the Moesa region, a hidden place where many valleys are uninhabited. There is also Valle Aurina (Ahrntal) in South Tyrol, Italy. It is not certain, however, whether this is the valley referred to in the story, because the valley in the story disappears, or at least becomes barren. At the time when this story takes place, it was said to be a lush and fertile land and was called the Green. There was a lake in the middle of the valley and a miniature village on the shore. It was a place as handsome as it was mysterious, shrouded in Alpine mist and guarded by a legend that persisted in the valley itself: the tale of the fairies of Val Gerina.
Daily offering to hidden people
The story begins with Aimone, an venerable man who lived in a tranquil alpine village at the edge of a valley and owned lush pastures and fields. A loner by nature, Aimone carried a bucket of fresh milk up the mountain every day and respectfully placed it on a flat stone near the top. Without a doubt, by the morning the milk had not melted, not a drop had been spilled, not a trace had been left.
The villagers were curious. They whispered about wild animals or ghosts, and many tried to follow him to discover the secret. But Aimone, fiercely protective of her daily ritual, always chased them away. No one dared to question him until his son Pietro, whose curiosity proved devastating.
Breaking the Pact
One morning, Pietro secretly followed his father. He watched as Aimone placed the milk on a gigantic altar-shaped stone under the rock and left. Determined to find out the truth, Pietro waited and waited… but nothing happened. Milk left. No fairies, no magic.
Disappointed and confused, Pietro returned home to discover that his favorite goat had mysteriously died in his absence. Seeing his son's sadness, Aimone finally revealed the truth.
For years he fed the mountain fairies who lived in a cave on a rock overlooking the valley. In return, they protected his home, animals and crops. They were shy, hidden beings who lived deep in alpine caves whose magic was to respect them and leave them alone.
For generations, their family fed the fairies who protected them and their lush valley. By observing the victim, Pietro broke an unspoken pact, and the fairies demanded payment.
The next day, as Pietro looked at the rock from a distance, he thought he saw two lights, almost white shapes, floating along the path leading to their cave.
The seduction of greed
Years have passed. Pietro grew into a juvenile man and fell deeply in love with a woman from a neighboring valley called Lolanda. In some versions, it was a newly arrived foreign woman from the city, the daughter of a nobleman. She was nothing like the other girls in the valley, and her taste was more luxurious and refined than what Pietro had to offer.
To impress her, he gave her a miniature black stone inlaid with gold. He got it from a shepherd who came with a gift so uncommon and exquisite that she was impressed. Encouraged by her reaction, Pietro promised to bring her more. In some versions, she asked him to find more, giving him a spell that would summon the assist of a fairy.
But precious stones don't fall from the sky, and Pietro knew exactly where to find them: in the fairy-tale caves his father had once told him about in whispers.
Determined and emboldened by greed, Pietro sneaked into the mountains. Armed with an archaic scroll that supposedly contained a spell written in blood that could compel fairies to give up their treasures, he ventured into the heart of the cave. There, with trembling hands, he read the spell aloud.
The fall of Val Gerina
The moment the last word passed his lips, the cave began to shake. Stones fell, the wind howled, and the mountain itself seemed to scream with fury. The ground crumbled beneath Pietro's feet. He tried to run away, but it was too overdue. The earth collapsed, swallowing him – and the entire Val Gerina – into a noiseless abyss.
By morning, the valley they knew was gone.
Where once there was a green paradise, now there were only jagged rocks and alpine scree. A barren landscape without life. Pietro was never seen again. Neither did the fairies, if they ever showed up at all.
It is said that no map has ever recorded its existence and no villager has been able to tell whether Val Gerina really existed or was just a dream. So perhaps the previously mentioned Val Gerina only has a similar name.
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The Lost Valley: Fairies of Val Gerina
Legend has it that it was once a green paradise and fairies protected the inhabitants of the Val Gerina valley in the Swiss Alps. However, driven by his greed to impress the woman, the son intended to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, and brought it all down to earth.
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