According to Ancient Greek-Sicilian mythology, the Fonte Ciane was the location where Hades entered the underworld with his bride Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter. As the Roman author Ovid recounts, Ciane—a water nymph and companion to Persephone—attempted to prevent Hades from absconding with his unwilling bride. When her rhetoric failed to persuade the god of the underworld, the nymph Ciane was overcome with grief and dissolved into tears, creating this azure lake. Diodorus Siculus’ The Library of History states that Hercules instituted worship rites for the goddesses at this…
