A story about the greek fountain of Gallipoli, great tourist attraction
A long long time ago, gods lived amongst men and often they would unite with them in splendid marriages from which heroes, nymphs and semi-gods were born. Among them were three beautiful, young and graceful nymphs. Water nymphs called Dirke, Salmacis and Biblide.
The story told about them is different, a more illustrious story, but we like to tell the more obscure one. They came from Greece one day, to find refuge in Salento, in the delightful and beautiful town of Gallipoli. Their past wasn’t bright like the sun that shines at midday in Gallipoli, neither was it serene like the skies, always moving under the wind, in Salento, nor joyful like the local inhabitants. Dirke had been betrayed by her husband and jealousy had driven her to madness. Now she was serene only in the shade of the olive trees in the hills. Salmacis loved a semi-god so much that she was annulling herself completely for him, while Biblide spent years chasing an impossible love and now they would spend their days laughing and joking on the beach, forgetting all their suffering. Finally they were here, in an eternal holiday in Puglia. They had found peace and they wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world.
But Zeus discovered their refuge and decided to punish them with drought. One year, the drought was so bad and harsh that the people were crippled. The days went by and there was no sign of rain. The blond wheat wouldn’t grow, animals died of thirst. So, the people from Gallipoli asked the three nymphs to help them: “We beg you, goddesses, help us find water”. For three days and three nights, the three nymphs tried to think of a way to help these people that had been so welcoming and had given them their happiness back and in the end they found a solution. Through their knowledge of water and a lot of effort, they chose the best stones of the land of Salento, the white and ductile stone, the calcareous one. With their divine hands, they dug a well to bring out water from underground and on that well they built a grand fountain in the heart of the town. Water began to spring fresh and pure and everyone came immediately to admire this prodigy. Everyone was so happy that Gallipoli celebrated the end of the drought for three days.
So Zeus, still angry with the fugitives but a little moved by the gesture of gratitude made by the nymphs, decided to transform them into splendid statues on that fountain, so they would remain with their dear inhabitants of Gallipoli forever, admired by everyone and remembered in the centuries to come.
