Legend has it that many years ago Avigliana, located on a morainic amphitheatre between Monte Pirchiriano and the hill of Rivoli, in Val di Susa, was located where now there are the lakes and that it was well known for the wickedness of its inhabitants.
The Lord one day, to see if the slanderous voices were true, visited the town in the guise of a beggar. He knocked at the doors of every house to ask for charity, but only an old woman, who lived in a miserable house, welcomed him and fed him. At that point, God could not appease his anger: he threw lightning, thunder and seismic shocks that opened two chasms under the town. Two large lakes formed in place of the village, divided by a small strip of land on which only the house of the generous old woman remained, the only survivor of that divine punishment. From here the saying: "Vian-a vilan-a per sua bontà l'è perfondù" (Avigliana was sunk for its goodness).
