On the stalls of the last urban greengrocers, in the days leading up to May Day, the herbs that had awaited all year began to pile up: borage, misericordia, wild fennel, marjoram, mint, sage, dill, pipirella. The bunches are assembled by eye, measured in the palm of the hand, according to a form of embodied … Read more
Near the stable, the shepherd Luigi De Angelis spends a day in the sun preparing the crosses for the feast of the Holy Cross. With the measured and confident gestures of someone who has carried out this task for many years, Luigi carves the hazelwood sticks set aside in previous days, trims the horizontal joints, … Read more
From house to house, winding their way through the village’s narrow, often snow-covered alleyways, the group of carol singers brings their devotional songs at dusk. They enter the homes, greet those who welcome them, and recount through music the stories of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the powerful patron saint of stables and domestic animals, venerated … Read more
A Sower carrying a bucket and scattering ash along the way, followed by a Poet on horseback, a self-styled Bishop, and a bearded Mammina (midwife figure); a plough pulled by Bovini (human “oxen”), urged on by the Bifolco (ploughman)and his assistants, move through the streets of the village, accompanied by other bizarre figures. They stop … Read more
Inside the homes, during the winter months, hands work the meat rapidly, brought forward in a percussive motion. It is generally the men who shape the elongated forms that will make up the paired mortadelline (small, cured sausages), hung to cure in the following days among the smoke of oak and beech, awaiting Easter. Once … Read more
“I want to sing a verse in terza rima, for my passion calls me to it, to celebrate the lofty peaks of the mountains / I want to sing a more concrete verse, and I hope it will please those who listen and reveal an intimate secret. And now I shape a song in quatrains, … Read more
Of ancient origin, and now surviving only in certain areas of Europe, the Cucù game — known in Campli as Cucù or Ttuffë — animates the town with lively tournaments and matches during the Christmas period, in local clubs or private homes, amid teasing, jokes and laughter, around crowded tables surrounded by spectators. Cards circulate … Read more
As anticipation grows for the feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot, and families prepare to light the bonfire and welcome the questing groups who go from house to house singing in honour of the saint, in the kitchens of the village and its rural hamlets, women begin making the uccelletti, the traditional cellittë of Saint … Read more
From house to house, moving through the narrow streets of the village, the group of questing singers brings its devotional songs at dusk. They enter the homes, greet those who welcome them, and recount through music the stories of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the powerful protector of stables and domestic animals, venerated by farmers. The … Read more
In the villages of Befaro and Colledoro, within the municipality of Castelli, as across northern Abruzzo, the game of morra unfolds in front of cellars, during fairs and festivals, and in both public and private gatherings. Players meet after work or during moments of celebration, giving life to intense and continuous matches that may last … Read more