Giardini Reggia Di Caserta, Caserta

Urban Legends of the City of Naples
The Poisoned Rose and the Spell of the Royal Cave

CASERTA – Ancient chronicles tell of a thwarted love: that of Prince Andrew for Rosella, the beautiful daughter of a fisherman. The ladies of the aristocracy, blinded by jealousy, resorted to a sorceress to interrupt the wedding. They obtained a rose whose deadly scent, due to a fatal error in the spell, did not kill the girl, but transformed her into a deformed old woman.

A witch from Benevento revealed to Rosella that only the kiss of her betrothed could lift the curse. However, the prince, not recognizing the old woman as his beloved, went away in search of her, only to die shortly thereafter of grief. The sovereign, believing the mysterious old woman to be a witch, ordered her exile in a cave in the royal park.

Decades later, Rosella, now free, met the hunter Ulrico, to whom she offered a sprig of butcher’s broom. After the young man died during a hunting trip, she was unjustly accused of witchcraft and captured. As her last wish, she asked to kiss Ulrico’s remains. As she leaned over him, she pricked herself on the sprig: a single drop of her blood, falling on the hunter’s lips, worked the miracle, restoring him to life. That loving gesture broke the ancient curse: Rosella regained her youth and, two days later, fulfilled her dream of love by marrying her savior.