4 ELEMENTS

Project logo
Improve the foreign language learning and intercultural competences of adults through e-learning

The project

FOUR ELEMENTS is an initiative called to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of culture and heritage as well as to train educators working with adult learners who want to improve their skills and competences necessary in today’s EU labour market.

The project will take advantage of the potential of the common European cultural values associated to the 4 elements earth, water, air and fire) to empower adults to improve their digital, foreign language and intercultural competences.

The partnership expects to develop and deliver innovative teaching materials presented in a culturally accessible E-book consisting of European legends and stories – giving visibility to the underlying common EU values and principles, especially adapted to learners with special needs.

To achieved such objectives, partners will develop:

An interactive map: a collection of legends and stories related to earth, water, air and fire, in different EU countries.

Digital Books with national legends and stories related to the four elements.

Methodological recommendations for adult educators.

To find more information, access the Four Elements platform here.

Digital books

The nations of Europe all have rich cultures of myth and folklore which give the different regions their particular individual flavour. Here we have grouped traditional stories from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain according to the four elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

They are specially adapted to adult learners and can be used to develop language or ICT skills among your students while enhancing intercultural understanding.

Alongside the stories, this digital book contains interactive exercises and is in Easy Read format. All the material in it can be downloaded and printed. Teachers and trainers will find tips and suggestions for how to use it on the Recommendations section of this site.

European partnership

Four Elements is an Erasmus+ KA204 project designed to highlight the importance of culture and heritage at European Union level. It aims to train educators working with adult learners to enable them to acquire the skills and competences, including linguistic and digital skills and competences, required in the European labour market.

The project is coordinated by : CVO EduKempen (Belgium). The partnership also includes DomSpain Consulting (Spain), The Central Library of Võru County (Estonia), Les Apprimeurs (France), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia), MyArtist (Greece).

Erasmus+ project

Erasmus logo The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The extinct volcano

LEGEND

Main element: Fire

Language of the original: Italian

To find more information about the legend, access the Four Elements platform here.

Like other legends connected with this area of Italy and the elements that compose it - for example rocks, mountains, rivers - this legend tries to give an explanation for natural phenomena.
As mentioned in the story, Monte Bracco has a particular shape, similar to a volcano: people living around it started to think it could really be a volcano, but since it has never erupted it is best to say that it has been extinguished.

Seen from the lowlands that surround it, Mount Bracco seems to be a volcano due to its pyramidal shape, like many others in Italy, for instance Etna or Vesuvius. One day, however, St. James “turned it off” for ever. That’s the story…

One day the earth began to tremble in the villages at the foot of the mountains that guard Mount Viso., Strong explosions pounded the valleys and big cracks were opened up in the walls of the houses. It seemed that Mount Bracco quivered, while something inside the mountain was bursting. From a huge break that opened on the crest of the mountain a plume of smoke came out and straight afterwards red tongue of fire shot into the sky. Lava poured down and the scared inhabitants began to abandon their houses. It seemed to be the end of the world. The farmers were asking where St. James was, and why he didn’t help them.

The Apostle James, or St. James the Greater, was far away at that moment, maybe in France or maybe in Galicia, where today one can find his sanctuaries. The saint loved to travel. He used to bring with him a wooden stick to support him during his long walks. There was a little pumpkin tied to the stick that served as a flask. His walking trail was really special: he had the capability to become a giant and to travel kilometres in just one step.

The night Bracco burned, James felt voices calling him from a far distance. They were farmers’ voices. St. James decided to climb the top of Mount Bracco. The inhabitants saw him open the “pumpkin-flask” and pour every last drop of water in it into the crater. The flames reacted immediately, first jumping up to the sky, then going down and disappearing.

At dawn Mount Bracco regained its tranquillity and silence and since then it has remained just a mountain. To St. James are dedicated two chapels: one in the village of Barge, at the foot of the mountain, and the other up on the mountainside. Every year on July 25th there is a celebration. If the saint does not have other obligations on that day, he pours his water into the volcano and the surrounding land.

Il vulcano spento

LEGGENDA

Elemento: Fuoco

Lingua originale: Italiano

Per avere ulteriori informazioni sulla leggenda, accedi alla piattaforma 4elements da qui.

Il monte Bracco, visto dalla pianura e dai paesini che lo circondano, sembra un vulcano per la sua forma a piramide, ma l’apparenza non inganna questa volta! Il monte Bracco è davvero un vulcano come altri in Italia, l’Etna o il Vesuvio ad esempio, solo che un giorno San Giacomo lo spense per sempre. Ecco qui la storia...

Un giorno nei paesini ai piedi dei monti che fanno da sentinella al Monte Viso, la terra iniziò a tremare, forti boati rimbombavano nelle valli e grosse crepe si aprirono nei muri delle case. Sembrava che il monte Bracco fremesse, mentre al suo interno qualcosa ribolliva. Da una enorme spaccatura che si aprì sulla cresta del monte uscì un getto di fumo e subito dopo del fuoco schizzò in cielo mostrando rosse lingue. Una colata di lava iniziò a scendere e gli abitanti spaventati iniziarono ad abbandonare le case. Sembrava essere arrivata la fine del mondo e i contadini si domandavano dove fosse san Giacomo, perché non li aiutasse.

L’apostolo Giacomo, diventato poi San Giacomo il Maggiore, era lontano in quel momento, forse in Francia o forse in Spagna, magari in Galizia dove oggi sorge il suo santuario. Il santo amava viaggiare, portava sempre con sé un bastone come sostegno nelle lunghe camminate a cui era legata una zucchetta che fungeva da borraccia. Il suo modo di viaggiare era un po’ particolare in realtà: aveva la capacità si diventare un gigante e fare chilometri con un solo passo.

La notte infuocata del Bracco, Giacomo si sentì chiamare dalle voci lontane dei contadini e in un baleno decise di raggiungere la sommità del monte. Si dice che gli abitanti dei paesi lo videro aprire la “zucca-borraccia”, piegarsi sul cratere e versarvi dentro l’acqua, fino all’ultima goccia. Le fiamme subito reagirono ribelli schizzando in alto, verso il cielo, poi si abbassarono fino a spegnersi del tutto.

Arrivò l’alba e il monte Bracco era tornato tranquillo come sempre, e per sempre rimase solo un monte. A san Giacomo sono dedicate due cappelle: una nel paesino di Barge, ai piedi del monte, e l’altra sul monte stesso. Ogni anno il 25 luglio si celebra una festa e, se non ha altri impegni, quel giorno il santo sparge la sua acqua sul vulcano spento e il territorio intorno.

Gatto Chanu T. (2010), Leggende e racconti popolari del Piemonte, Newton Compton Editori, Roma.