Categoria: Folk Traditions
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Strange marks in Florence
I had actually seen these signs before but didn’t think they were related to this context. Often, along the walls of a religious building, such as that of the Florence Baptistery you can find spolia (i.e., the reuse of architectural or decorative elements from Roman times) or the famous and mysterious magic square, the Sator.…
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The Door of the dead
Have you ever seen a door of the dead?Most likely you have, you just didn’t know it! Where do you find it… You must have seen it walking through the narrow streets of medieval villages.I know that some of them are still visible, especially in Central Italy.Here in Tuscany, there are several. Precisely, have you…
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The origins of the Befana
Needless to say, we inherited the character of the Befana from the Romans. During the twelve nights following the winter solstice, the Romans dedicated themselves to celebrations for the birth of nature, during which mysterious female figures, guided by Diana, flew over the fields to make them more fertile. Another hypothesis has it that the flying women…
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Do you know the origin of the name “January”?
The King of Rome Numa Pompilius (753 – 673 BC) had a temple erected dedicated to the most ancient Latin god, the god of gods, namely Two-faced Janus (Ianus Geminus). He reigned in the golden age and hosted Cronus, who took refuge in Italy after he was chased away by Zeus. In Roman times, if you strolled…
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Mouse or Pig?
I’ll give you some clues: Piazza dei Priori, Volterra. It seems that this tower belonged to the Topi family. Then you will say: “it’s a mouse!” Wait… But then, the Municipality bought the tower in the 13th century to house the Podestà and also the prisons that remained here until the 19th century. On the…