The legend of Taranta

Pizzica is a traditional dance from Salento, southern part of Puglia (Apulia), that stages a local legend focused on women who were bitten by a Tarantula. In order to cure themselves, the women had to dance to the rhythm of percussion sounds…

The Pizzica Taranta

In rural areas there were lots of women unhappy since they fell in love with men they could not have and lived a real miserable life.
All the things they can’t have let them hallucinate, seeing the spider and feeling the bite, under the effect of their subconscious mind: they fell down on the ground and fall into a trance, which unique remedy was the Pizzica Taranta, a very erotic and crazy dance miming the spider movements characterized by quick steps and frenzied dancing.
Then they were used to go in St. Paul’s Chapel in Galatina, to ask for grace.

The orchestra of La Notte della Taranta is an extraordinary heritage of the Pizzica Taranta and the Grecìa Salentina, with its musical and cultural traditions, crossing national and continental borders, going live on different TV stations, thus allowing fans to enjoy from a distance, in different areas of Italy and of the world the event.