LATEMAR AND THE MERMAID

In the mythic landscape of the Dolomites, where the jagged peaks of the Latemar Range cut the sky, lies Lake Carezza, a place where human longing and nature’s magic have always intertwined.

The legend tells of a mermaid who dwelled in its emerald depths, her beauty and voice so enchanting that she embodied the wild soul of the waters themselves. She would sit on the rocky shores, combing her golden hair, her song echoing through the valleys.

The story goes that Masaré, a sorcerer from the surrounding mountains, became captivated by her. In his desire to possess this elemental beauty, he fashioned a rainbow of precious gems and draped it over the lake, hoping to ensnare her with its brilliance. But the mermaid was no fool; she saw through the illusion and disappeared beneath the water, leaving nothing but ripples in her wake.

Enraged and humiliated, Masaré ripped the rainbow from the sky and hurled it into the lake, where it shattered, dissolving into a myriad of colours. From that day on, Lake Carezza reflected the sorcerer’s failed ambition and the mermaid's elusive spirit, its waters shifting from green to blue to violet, an ever-changing reminder that some forces of nature resist the human urge to control, remaining untamed and eternally free.

And so, the lake earned the name "Lago dell'Arcobaleno," the Rainbow Lake, a testament to a time when stories blurred the line between reality and myth, reminding us that our deepest desires often sink to the bottom, becoming part of the very world they sought to master.

Oil on stretched canvas / 50 x 70cm / framed in Tasmanian oak and ready to hang.