In the town of Pedroche, in the province of Córdoba, a mediaeval town with steep, narrow streets that spread out from under the tall bell tower of El Salvador, there is a small well in the middle of the street that hides great secrets. The legend began in 709, when in the Toledo court of the Visigoth King Don Rodrigo, there was a young woman named Florinda who was remarkably beautiful.
The monarch became infatuated with the lady and asked her to marry him, but the girl rejected him because she wanted to preserve her purity. In response, the king ordered her to be taken to his bedroom in order to abuse her. As a result, Florinda became pregnant and had no choice but to marry against her will. After that, she was disowned and she became known as the "Cava" queen, in Arabic "cava" means prostitute. She became desperate, so she informed her father and governor of Ceuta, the Count Don Julián.
Don Julián immediately asked the Berber leaders for help, so they could help him to seize the peninsula from the king who had outraged his daughter. This was in 711 and, as a result of that affront and the subsequent battle of Guadalete, the Moorish domination led by Don Julián began.
Saddened because she took responsibility for the defeat of her people, the "Cava" queen took refuge in the Castle of Pedroche. According to the legend, every night she would go for a walk in the patio, look down into a small well and cry bitterly for each of the deaths that occurred. Finally, one night she plunged to the bottom of the dark pond. Currently, all that remains of the Castle of Pedroche is precisely this small well, called Fuente de la Cava.
Centuries later, early one morning, a dishevelled and deranged-looking woman appeared from the well. Laughing wildly, she climbed up the parapet will gazing down into the darkness of the well. Then, without looking back, she disappeared without leaving a trace. People say that night after night they were forced to lock themselves inside their houses for fear of meeting the ghost, because they say that whoever crosses the spirit's path will be lulled to sleep drowned in fear and sadness.
There are still people in the town who admit to having seen the ghost of "La Cava" peeking out from the bottom of the well. She looks at you suspiciously and then plunges back into the murky waters.
