When Godfrey of Bouillon launched his historic appeal to all the young knights of Europe to rescue the Holy Sepulchre from the control of infidels, the Primiero and Feltre nobles enrolled in the sacred cause. Among those who offered to take part in the holy expedition were Altissėdio of Lamón and Corrado of Castel Pietra, but while the latter decided to leave at once for Augsberg, the German town where all the crusaders were gathering to start out for the Holy Land, the former was detained in Lamón by a disastrous flood. Altissėdio had to lead all the able man of the valley to embank the torrents, defend the bridges and houses, in short, to cope with the violence of nature. The brave knight was also wounded by a tree trunk carried by the current and had to spend several weeks in bed with a burning fever. But there was something else burning him: his desire to set out on the journey to join his friends in Germany. As soon as he felt better, Altissėdio had his best horse prepared and ordered two loyal squires to gather all that was needed for the expedition. When everything was ready, the young nobleman said goodbye to his family and set out full of enthusiasm towards Rolle Pass, from where he could go town through Val di Fiemme to reach Bolzano, the Brenner Pass and then Germany and finally join Corrado di Castel Pietra and the Christian army. However, when he had almost reached San Martino of Castrozza, five highwaymen with their faces masked suddenly leapt out of the dark forest and attacked him. "Throw down your arms and your money!" ordered one of the five who seemed to he the leader. In reply Altissėdio jumped off his horse, drew his sword and, calling his squires to help him, he attacked the brigands with a savage cry. The duel lasted a long time, but in the end three of the rogues lay wounded on the ground, a fourth one managed to escape, while the fifth one, the leader, was defeated by the crusader himself. The point of Altissėdio 's sword was pressing on the masked man's throat as he knelt at the knight feet begging for mercy. "Don't kill me, sire! Have pity on a man who has erred and wishes to repair the ill he has done!" "Take off your mask and show yourself!" With a trembling hand the brigand lowered the scarf covering his face and... "But you are Marquardo di Castel Pietra, the mischief-maker! Your brother Corrado is waiting for me to go and free the Holy Sepulchre and you, in his absence, are terrifying the area and despoiling poor wayfarers! You deserve to die all the more, you coward!" shouted Altissėdio. "I beg you, noble crusader, don't soil your sword with Christian blood, keep it clean for the blood of the infidels you'll find in the Holy Land! Ask me whatever you want... indeed, I'll choose my punishment myself. If you let me live, my companions and I will stay in these woods. We'll eat roots and wild fruit and we'll promise to help the pilgrims, feed them and give them a roof to rest under. We'll become hermits, champions of those who are travelling!" Altissėdio, also in the name of the affection be had for Corrado, consented. "But I warn you, Marquardo. When I return from Jerusalem... and be sure I will return... I will come here immediately to see whether you have kept the promise you have made before me and before God! If you haven't, you'll pay for it." Two years passed and when Altissėdio finally came back from the Holy Land, after the great celebrations held in his honour, first in Feltre and then in Lamón, he went at once to San Martino di Castrozza. Corrado di Castel Pietra had stayed in Jerusalem guarding the liberated Holy Sepulchre, but he had asked his friend to see whether his brother had really turned over a new leaf and kept his promise. When Altissėdio was not far from the pass, a thick fog suddenly descended and he couldn't see the path he was travelling along any more. He would certainly have lost his way if it hadn't been for the sound of a bell which guided him to a small hut. Inside he found five people kneeling in prayer. They were Marquardo and his former brigands who warmly welcomed the knight. Altissėdio was so struck by the conversion of the old mischief-maker of Castel Pietra, he decided that very day to abandon wealth and magnificence and join the small group of hermits to found what, for many centuries, was known as the Hospice of San Martino di Castrozza.


In photo:
the Hospice of San Julian and San Martino di Castrozza,
before the destruction, during the first worldwide war