Tarantism is the story of a singular magic-religious ritual that has his roots in Apulia, a region in the southernmost part of Italy. Discovering it is essential to learn about a great history of traditions that have characterized most of that area.

This ritual was based on a musical and dance ceremonial that helped people, especially women, affected by convulsive hysterical manifestations that popular beliefs attributed to the bite of the tarantula, a spider. Historically, it was believed that this curious exorcism performed by the endless melody of accordions and tambourines could eliminate the poison from the soul and body of the woman.

Therefore, if an unlucky woman, while collecting tobacco from the fields, was bitten by a spider, the whole population had to immediately gather the citizens capable of playing, because the music was considered the only medicine necessary to save her life. The concept was that the tarantulata (i.e. the sick woman), listening to the melody, felt the desire to dance to drive away the evil.

About the dance, it took place in two substantial phases: firstly, the woman was on the ground and moved her body personifying the spider; secondly, she stood up and experienced the conflict with the spider mimicking a pursuit that ended when the woman finally crushed the evil under her feet.
With the improvement of medicine, these ancient practices have disappeared. However, it is evident that the new generations that inhabit that area are still very proud of their historical roots.

Nowadays, some expressive modalities typical of this ritual system have been recovered by some musical groups and cultural associations, in a movement of re-appropriation of the original traditions and dance forms that found strong feedback from the public. Its main expressive mode is the tarantella, still very popular today. Indeed, every year the Apulian region organizes “La Notte della Taranta” – a folk music festival whose goal is to celebrate and enhance traditional music and dances.

In conclusion, according to the mayor of Melpignano, the village where the festival takes place, tradition must not represent an “antique object” that is increasingly forgotten; rather, we should celebrate the past to build a future that does not lose its identity. That is the reason why the current form of Tarantella is still so popular and escapes the grip of time, bringing the different generations together.

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