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Today, Capo Vaticano is a simple geographical point that corresponds to the place where the Navy
Lighthouse stands. This name, little by little, was extended to the municipal
district of Ricadi (VV).
The ancients knew the promontory of Capo Vaticano and they signed it on their
maps with the name "Taurianum Promontorium"and, in the Roman
Age, it was changed into "Promontorium Vaticano". Vaticano comes from "Vaticinium" that means: oracle, response.
Tradition wants that, in ancient times, an oracle was on the promontory and it
was always asked by all the sailors that came down the Tyrrhenian coast, before
facing the maelstroms between Scylla and Charybdis.
The prophetess Manto, who lived among the cliffs of the Capo opposite a rock
named after her "Scoglio Mantineo", was the only one able to
foretell if the conditions of the sea were favourable to navigation or not.
Manto gave her response to everyone who asked her, in exchange for presents.
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