The Carezza lake nymph

Legend has it that a warlock from Masaré was passing the lake one day when heard a beautiful water nymph singing. He fell in love with her instantly. He used all his magical powers to try and capture the lovely fairy, but, try as he might, she kept evading him. The warlock then turned to Langwerda, a witch, for help. Langwerda advised him to conjure up a rainbow between the Catinaccio and Latemar mountains. He was then to disguise himself as a jeweller, return to Carezza lake to entice the maiden and capture her.

No sooner said than done! However, the evil warlock left out one crucial aspect of the plan… he forgot his disguise. The nymph was enthralled by the beautiful colours of the rainbow and all the gemstones, yet she also saw the warlock, who had concealed himself on the riverbank, and dived straight back into the lake, never to be seen again.

The warlock was so angry that he failed to capture the nymph that he tore the rainbow from the sky in broken-hearted rage, smashed it to smithereens and threw the pieces into the lake. This is why Carezza lake shimmers in the most stunning rainbow colours and is known locally as “Rainbow Lake”.