Legend of San Pellegrino and the Dragon
The legend of San Pellegrino and the Dragon tells the story of the Saint's arrival in Caltabellotta and how he drove out paganism with his courageous deeds.
It is said that in the city of Triocola, the ancient name of Caltabellotta, a dragon lived in a cave on the high cliff where the hermitage of San Pellegrino stands today. To appease his hunger, the villagers had to regularly deliver as a sacrifice a child chosen by lot from among their children. According to the legend, it was St. Peter who sent San Pellegrino to earth to Christianize the ancient Caltabellotta. During the Saint's arrival in the country, a child was predestined to be the dragon's meal. Pilgrim carried the child to the cliff and when the dragon opened his mouth to devour him he stuck his stick in his throat and killed him, freeing Triocola from this curse. The child was called Liberato. Pellegrino remained to live as a hermit right on the cliff. This is why today there are two caves: the cave of evil or the dragon's cave, where according to legend the dragon was killed, and the cave of good or the saint's cave, where Pellegrino lived.
