The Italian town of Colobraro is so renowned in the region as a place of ill-omen that reputedly police don’t fine drivers for speeding through the town as quickly as possible, hoping to avoid supernatural mayhem and the inhabitants of neighboring town refrain from even uttering the name – or if there’s a slip men from other villages scratch their genitals – a tradition to ward off bad luck. According to the Daily Mail (known for it high levels of journalistic credibility – er, NOT!) the reputation stems from the antics of Biagio Virgilio who “was a wealthy, fiery-eyed local attorney who never lost a case and had plenty of enemies. One day in court, to stress his point, he exclaimed: ‘If what I say is false, may this chandelier come down’, and it did.” OY!
If you’re need Kindle reading on the commode, here’s the whole story
