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A wooden puppet depicting the Befana. In Italian folklore and folk customs, the Befana (Italian: [beˈfaːna]) is a witch-like old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi. [1] The Befana is a widespread tradition among all Italians and thus ...
Witchcraft in Italy. Evidence of magic use and witch trials were prevalent in the Early Modern period, and Inquisitorial prosecution of witches and magic users in Italy during this period was widely documented. Primary sources unearthed from Vatican and city archives offer insights into this phenomenon, and notable Early Modern microhistorians ...
e. The roots of European witchcraft trace back to classical antiquity when concepts of magic and religion were closely related, and society closely integrated magic and supernatural beliefs. Ancient Rome, then a pagan society, had laws against harmful magic. In the Middle Ages, accusations of heresy and devil worship grew more prevalent.
The Witches at the Walnut Tree of Benevento, Guglielmo della Porta, c. 1534–1577. The history or legend of the witches of Benevento is folklore dating from at least the 13th century, and one reason for the fame of Benevento, an ancient Samnite city. The popular belief—that Benevento would be the Italian witches' gathering place—has ...
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italian folklorists – such as G. Marcotti, E. Fabris Bellavitis, V. Ostermann, A. Lazzarini and G. Vidossi – who were engaged in the study of Friulian oral traditions, noted that the term benandante had become synonymous with the term "witch", a result of the original Church persecutions of the ...
Stregheria (Italian pronunciation: [streɡeˈriːa]) is a neo-pagan tradition similar to Wicca, with Italian and Italian American origins. [1] While most practitioners consider Stregheria to be a distinct tradition from Wicca, some academics consider it to be a form of Wicca or an offshoot. Both have similar beliefs and practices.
Wicca (English: / ˈ w ɪ k ə /), also known as "The Craft", [1] is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion.Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant.
Cimaruta. The cimaruta (" chee-mah-roo-tah "; plural cimarute) is an Italian folk amulet or talisman, traditionally worn around the neck or hung above an infant's bed to ward off the evil eye (Italian: mal'occhio). Commonly made of silver, the amulet itself consists of several small apotropaic charms (some of which draw upon Christian symbolism ...