The luminous wake or ring of Santa Mustiola

A version of this legend recounts that a noblewoman, named Mustiola, the cousin of the emperor Claudius II, made the mistake of converting to Christianity. She refused to marry the rich suitor her father had chosen because she had made a vow of chastity, so he condemned her to death. The decision to flee was inevitable which she did towards the countryside of Chiusi, pursued by soldiers. When they had almost caught up with her, she found herself on the shore of a lake which was her only means of salvation, but there was no boat. So, she spread her cloak out on the water and climbed onto it, succeeding in reaching the opposite side and escaping her pursuers. There she found some peasants in the fields who were sowing panic grass. She said to them, “If the soldiers come looking for me, tell them that you saw me when you were sowing this panic grass.” The day after and another miracle occurred: the panic grass had grown and ripened as if several months had passed. So, the guards thought it was a waste of time continuing their pursuit. To this day, on the morning of July 3, the anniversary of the walking on the lake, a luminous wake appears in the waters of the Chiusi lake (referred to as the “Chiaro” by the locals).