In the woods of Lessinia lived the basilisk, a mythological animal, a creepy winged serpent with a rooster's head and claws, capable of killing with just its gaze.
Some inhabitants of the districts near Selva di Progno had decided to wander into the Sprontài forest and encountered it, later deciding to plant a cross to protect the place.
The suggestion probably derives from a curious combination of events: along the road from Selva di Progno to Campofontana, it is possible to observe the wooded ridge of a mountain rising up towards the sky, a sharp hump called Aisaròche or Esaròche - which in the ancient Cimbrian language would mean burning pastureland or smoke.
Near this ridge were also a charcoal kiln and a lime kiln, which, when operated together, gave off long columns of dark smoke: these inevitably touched the Aisaròche, creating a spectacular visual effect whereby it actually seemed as if a supernatural being was hovering over the valley with spread wings. The imagination of the frightened did the rest: hence the myth of the basilisk, spewing flames, fire and smoke from its mouth and nostrils.
