Why? His daughter, Maria Balsa, wife of Count Giacomo Alfonso Ferrillo, who lived towards the end of 1400, would be buried here. She arrived in Italy with the status of an orphan and was adopted by the King of Naples Alfonso of Aragon who gave her in marriage to his nephew Alfonso . The story attracted the attention of scholars and associations who gave life to the project «In the footsteps of Dracula in Europe». The cultural association Mihai Viteazu Prahova, chaired by Mircea Cosma, Palazzo Italia Bucharest, Asociatia Lucani nei Balkani (organism led by the Lucanian Giovanni Baldantoni), Municipality of Acerenza, Glinni family and Romanian association in Italy participate. Acerenza was the first stop of the initiative. Vlad III is revered as a folk hero in Romania, as well as in other parts of Europe, for protecting the population from the invasion of the Turks. And historical documents on Count Dracula come from Romania, including the ancient manuscript "Tree of the Dragona family", which would testify to the link with Acerenza. It all starts from an effigy: near the Acheruntine cathedral, renovated in 1520-1524 by the Ferrillo spouses, the coat of arms of the Balsa family stands out at the top left, which surpasses, in rank, that of the Ferrillo family. It is a dragon: the same one that appears in the coat of arms of Vlad III belonging to the order of the Dragon, a coalition of noble warriors born during the Crusades to counter the advance of the Muslims.
Founded by Vlad III and Sigismund of Luxembourg, father of Alfonso of Aragon, the order of the Dragon spread rapidly and in particular was represented by the ambassador of the Republic of Venice Balbo and by the leader Filippo Scolari who was part of the first 24 knights founders of the order itself. The curiosities don't end here, because the cathedral is full of references to vampirism, starting with the two monstrous creatures who bite two unsuspecting victims on the neck at the entrance. Furthermore, in the crypt it is possible to see, on a bas-relief, a singular depiction that reproduces the biblical demon Lilith, known to appear only at night and suck the blood of men, especially newborns. In the frescoes the man who should represent Dracula is placed with his back to the altar, a bit as if he wanted to turn his back on God.
Testimonies, symbols and anything else that reinvigorate the legend of Dracula and his relationship with Acerenza where, precisely to "ride the wave" for tourist purposes, a library will soon be built open to scholars and enthusiasts from all over the world in which to find writings and documents on the "bloodsucker" of Transylvania.