A heart-shaped red stone was placed in the Sotoportego dei Preti Sestiere di Castello. Many don't know why. Legend has it that a young fisherman lived in that place, who one night found a mermaid entangled in his net. So he pulled her to the shore and the siren said her name was Melusina. The two for many nights talked and ended up falling in love and decided to get married. However, the siren promised that they would never see each other on Saturday before the wedding. The fisherman accepted, but taken by the desire to see his beloved, one Saturday he went to the shore to see her and found a snake. The snake then said that Melusina was affected by an evil spell, from which she would have freed herself with her marriage. The two married and had three children, but Melusina died young and the fisherman was left alone with the three children to be sent on. However, every time the fisherman returned home he found it completely settled. To find out who helped him one evening he went home earlier and found a snake in the kitchen, which he killed with fright. From that moment the house was no longer in order and only then did he understand that the snake was the soul of his siren who came back every day to help him. In memory of these great love, the red heart-shaped stone was put in the Sotoportego dei Preti which, if touched, is said to bring luck to lovers.
