The story of the Macedda fly
The story of the Macedda fly has interested many writers, who have defined its nuance. Near Lotzorai, there are still the ruins of an old castle, built, it is said, to give protection to a princess called "Locana". This castle, known today as The Castle Of The Medusa, was the scene of this legend. Locana's husband, called to arms, built the castle in case of enemy attacks from the sea to protect his wife and servant.
When the war was over, Locana left the castle and riches with the servant to follow her husband. Locana, afraid that in his absence the servant would take the riches, hatched a plan. She instructed the servant to bring two chests; in one she placed the riches and in the other, the lethal insect.
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Some time after the departure of the princess, the servant, thinking it was just a story to scare him, decided to open the chests. Upon opening them he discovered it was not just a tale but the plain truth and that there really was the terrible creature inside. From this the legend is born, reinforced by the popular belief, of the arrival of a lethal insect whose bite could kill. NO-one had the courage to stop it and the incantations of the priests were ineffective.
The evil fly sowed death and destruction everywhere, some villages were decimated in a very short time and other villagers were forced to flee to the mountains. One day a holy man asked the people to pray and to follow him; all the townsfolk filed in and followed him. At one point they stopped and formed a large circle. The saint ordered them to dance holding hands and to close the circle. Then a miraculous thing happened; all the flies in the area fell into a pile in the middle of the circle.
The saint gathered up all the flies and put them into seven barrels, set them on fire and they burned for three days and nights.
