Purgessimo

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The story goes that a long time ago Purgessimo had no name at all: it was just a small hamlet outside Cividale. Then one day the hamlet was infested by fleas, but not just the usual ones: there were thousands of very fierce fleas! Because of them, the inhabitants of the hamlet couldn't work, eat, or even sleep anymore. So they decided to take a great sack and put all the fleas in it.

It took them quite a long time, but in the end they succeeded in trapping them all, at which point they tied the sack, took it up to the castle and left it there. Despite the effort, after a few days the fleas resumed tormenting the inhabitants of the hamlet.

So a couple of men went to the castle to check whether the sack accidentally opened, but it was actually closed and there were no holes either. This is when they pronounced the now famous sentence: ”E pur, jèssin”, meaning "They come out, though".

So the story goes that the name "Purgessimo" originates from the sentence "E pur, jèssin!".