Europe, Weird, Odd & Just Plain Fun

In the hamlet of Cocullo in Abruzzo, the first Thursday in May always means one thing – snakes!

It marks the feast day of St Domenic, the patron saint that local belief holds to be a protector against snake bites. The Processione Dei Serpari is one of Italy’s strangest festivities, as a statue of St Domenic is paraded through the small village covered in snakes that also cover the bearers of the saint’s plinth.

#cocullo #processionedeiserpari #riti #serpenti #volgosocial

A photo posted by massimiliano morabito (@maxmorabito_) on Sep 25, 2015 at 4:46am PDT

The snakes are both non-venomous and de-fanged however. According to tradition they are caught from the woods around the village on 19 March by the snake handlers (serpari). They then have their fangs removed and are cared for as pets until the procession takes place. The ritual has been taking place for hundreds of years and is believed to make the locals immune to snake bites. After the procession, which runs from 12pm, the snakes are re-released into the surrounding woods.

#cocullo #sandomenicodisora #sandomenicodasora #processionedeiserpari

A photo posted by massimiliano morabito (@maxmorabito_) on Jul 16, 2015 at 1:21pm PDT

But that’s not where the weird rituals end. The village is woken up at 8am by fireworks at first. Along with being the patron saint against snake bits, St Domenic was also considered the patron saint of toothache (a busy man). An early mass therefore sees people ring the church bell by pulling the string with their teeth, or there’s the option of kissing a so-called ‘holy molar’.

So if you fear toothache or snake bites, it is highly recommended that you seek out a little visit to Abruzzo’s Cucullo, which is handily close to the Sulmona where the ancient Roman poet Ovid was famously from.