Where the pleasant Ternana basin lies today, a terrible monster once lived in the thick woods. A winged dragon – called Thyrus – with no front legs and a long barbed tail blew a deadly breath from his mouth. No one could approach his lair for miles around, and sometimes when he was hungry the dragon would go to the gates of the city terrorizing the inhabitants. No one had the courage to face it and anyone who tried was torn to pieces in the clutches of the beast. But one day a young man in shining armor, tired of living in fear, decided to fight the dragon. He went into the woods to the monster’s lair and the closer he got, the darker the sky grew, threatening a storm. The boy ignored the sky and went to the dragon’s lair to face the beast. But he realized that the stabs with his lance did little more than tickle the monster’s hard leathery skin. Just when it looked like the youth would succumb, the black clouds left a small opening in the sky, and the sun’s rays reflecting off the armor momentarily blinded the horrible dragon. Seizing the moment the boy thrust his lance straight into the dragon’s heart and he crumbled to the ground with a mighty roar. The dragon Thyrus with his disgustingly malodorous breath represents the putrid swamps near the Velino River that caused disease and death and infested the area around Terni before the Romans developed the land in the third century BC. The killing of the dragon symbolizes the birth and development of the town and it has become the symbol of Terni, reproduced on banners, crests and flags and is carved onto lintels over windows and doors.
The other personage that traditionally represents Terni had totally opposite behavior to the evil Thyrus – the town’s patron saint and one of the most well known in the world, whose emblem is love- St Valentine. He was a bishop who lived during the time of the Roman Empire and who gave his life for two lovers, demonstrating that noble sentiments unite us and make us universally human and closer to God over and beyond the rigid doctrines of religious beliefs.
The contrast between Thyrus and St Valentine presents Terni as a town of dualisms, quite unique in the Umbrian region. Terni is both ancient and modern. Its historical center alternates with the lively modern suburbs, from the artificiality of its industries to the awesome beauty of its natural surroundings.
Everyone has their own opinions about the industries and the impact they’ve had on the town, and in fact, it is still a problem today. Yet when you visit Terni you realize how this problem has been overcome and how the city has drawn advantages from it- by giving value and cultural worth to that which, in other places, would be hard to accept as part of our history.