The Snakes of Abruzzo

The small town of Cocullo in the mountains of the Abruzzo region of Italy is the location for the bizarre Festival of the Snakes – though nominally known as the feast of St Domenico.  The effigy of the Saint is draped in snakes and serpents; and the appearance of his indifference to the venomous serpents gives credence to his potency in banishing poisonous snakes. St. Domenico had obviously been reading up on the exploits of St. Patrick.

The "Festival of Snakes" - The Feast of San Domenico in Cocullo, Abruzzo.

In Abruzzo snakes are common, and in old times their bites were frequent cause of death. The Marsi, shepherds and fishermen who lived on the mountains and the coast of Lake Fucino, worshipped goddess Angitia, protector of snakes.

Near Luco dei Marsi there was a forest called “lucus Angitiae”, sacred to the goddess, and to her in early spring snakes used to be sacrificed. A legend says that Ovid, a celebrated Latin poet born in Sulmona, was desperately in love with a cold-hearted girl, so she took refuge into the goddess’s forest to learn the magic art. In the ancient world the Marsi were renowned for their power on poisonous snakes and in the 1st and 2nd century are recorded as healers and street fortune tellers in Rome. In the course of the Middle Ages the Marsian religion disappeared, but the belief of magical powers on poisonous snakes and on rabid dogs were transferred in the popular culture to healing figures, who were called “ciarauli”, who knew the secrets to capture snakes and heal from their bite.”

The Marsi sound suspiciously similar to the modern day snake-charmers of India; though snake charming also existed in North Africa, especially Egypt. Did the snake-charming tradition of India and South-East Asia make its way as far as the hill towns of the Appennines ?

Not coincidentally  – nearby Cocullo with its snake tradition lies the capital of Abruzzo -  the town of L’Aquila  – “The Eagle”. Snake and eagle imagery are never far apart.

Abruzzo – and in particular the municipality of L’Aquila -  suffered signifcant loss of life and damage in an earthquake in April of this year – nearly 300 killed and 1500 injured.

This is just going to get worse as we get closer.

Earthquake damage in L'Aquila, Abruzzo - April 2009.