The legend of Maja and the 'Sleeping Giant'

It is said that Maja, the most beautiful of the Pleiades, celestial and mountain nymphs, fled from Phrygia to save her only son, a stupendous giant severely wounded in battle and pursued by the enemy. Crossing the sea, after a tragic shipwreck, she managed to land near the harbour of the ancient city of Ortona, where, fearing that her pursuers would catch up with her, she took the wounded giant in her arms and continued her escape by climbing the Gran Sasso. In a cave, in which she found refuge, she tried to keep her son alive, but after some time he died, leaving the nymph shrouded in infinite anguish. After mourning her son's death desperately for days, she buried him on a mountain peak, where even today, anyone observing from the east can recognise the 'Sleeping Giant' in the outline of the mountain range. Distraught and desperate, in the following days Maja began to wander the mountains until she died of great distress. The nymph's relatives, after adorning her with precious garments, gold and silver vases and garlands of flowers and herbs, buried her on the majestic mountain opposite the Gran Sasso, which from that day on was called Majella in her memory. Even today, shepherds hear her cries on windy days, during which the woods and valleys present reproduce the lament of a weeping mother.
A beautiful and curious legend with an undoubtedly sad flavour, which testifies to the wonderful bond between the people of Abruzzo and their mountains, symbolically attributing to Majella the meaning of Mother, symbol of fertility. A story full of love and spirituality set in a magical place, Abruzzo, the wonderful and surprising greenest region in Europe.