Legend of house of Three Touches
"House of the three touches" or "House of the three sisters" is an old farmhouse in Cassibile today famous for its ghosts.
The villa, located in Contrada Arenella along the S.P. 106 which connects Syracuse and Cassibile, was once the summer residence of the noble Giacarà family. Various legends circulate around the villa.
A first legend tells of the Barons of Fontane Bianche, who lived in the villa with their daughter until one evening when thieves broke into the house to steal, and, caught in the act, they killed the two barons and cut off the head of the child which they threw into the well. Since then, it is said that, on full moon nights, one sees the girl's head, in the water circle of the well, crying and screaming.
Another legend tells that, around the nineteenth century , the only daughter of the owners of the house had fallen in love with a soldier of fortune, against the opposition of her father's will. After the death of the two lovers, whose cause is unknown, the father, who could not resist the pain and anger of that mourning, threw a curse on anyone passing by his house who did not honor him with his devoted greeting.
The third legend, which gives the house its name, tells of three sisters who lived in the villa. It is said that these sisters were ugly to the point of not being able to find a husband, and so they lived segregated in the house condemned to an atrocious loneliness. Upon their death they launched a curse on all who passed near them: whoever did not knock on the door three times as a sign of respect would end his days by violent death.
The legend of the three sisters finds confirmation in history: one of the four sons of the poet and patriot Emmanuele Giaracà, owner of the villa, had three daughters, never married, of whom there was never any news.
The legends of the house of the three touches are part of the common imaginary of the locals to the point that, even today, whoever passes by the villa sounds the horn three times, perhaps as a sign of respect for the child whose head was thrown into the well, or perhaps for fear that the father of the 'dead in love hurts his curse, or to honor the memory of the three sisters and avoid ending their days by violent death.
