As a nation state, Italy has emerged only in 1871. Until then the country was politically divided into a large number of independant cities, provinces and islands. The currently available evidences point out to a dominant Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultural influence on today's Italians.
I grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood and many of the old ladies practiced folk traditions. When they died, much of that died with them but not all of it. I have a close friend who is in her mid 50s. She grew up in Italy but left as a teen for England. She has been in the U.S. since age 25. She and her mother use folk remedies. They're devout Catholics originally from Campania.
I'm wondering if people in Italy still practice folk traditions? Are my friend's practices common for many Italians? Fa Lu Santuccio or Benedicaria which is said to be "magical Catholicism" is basically what my friend practices. (I posted about Benedicaria several months ago and received no replies.)
I'm also wondering if what's referred to as the "Old Religion" (Stregheria) is actually alive in Italy or is that a romanticized assumption by Americans?
It seems to me to be a quite out of time tradition.
I live in Roma, but I also have connections with smaller places in Central and Southern Italy, and I no more hear about it.
Though, I must say, a lot of people are cheated by fortune-tellers and fake healers.
But this is something different...
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My friend in Pescara predicts the weather for an entire year by taking a reading and keeping a log of the weather conditions for every day in the month of December. She does this faithfully every December. And her predictions are pretty accurate.
I thought maybe the folk traditions wouldn't be as popular in Italy as they use to be many years ago. People are busy and not as superstitious as they once were. Still, many of the herbal remedies work well. They're worth holding on to.
Jennabet, that's amazing that your friend is able to predict the weather so far in advance. Do you know her method for doing so? Is it just from studying the previous year, or is there more to it?
I read tarot cards, and I created three professional tarot decks with another in production. I also write books and articles on tarot. I love tarot for the artistic and cultural aspects. (Culture is always worth preserving in one way or another.) Although tarot originated in Italy, I believe it's much more popular in the States today. There are thousands of decks now, but the original Italian decks are still the most beautiful.
If they were raised by contadini (farmers), many Italians still continue the folk traditions. My friend actually taught me how to predict the weather and I used the system myself for a couple of years but then lost interest because I was not as accurate. This was due to the fact that I was not as good as she at determining the weather conditions for a particular day. She also told me about other weather phenomena, such as if there is some rain every day for two weeks straight, it has a special name and it only comes at a time when the farmers really need it.
Yes, Tarot is an Italian thing. We have Tarot readers on the cable TV channels every day in Italy and the Italians, men and women, rely on them for specific information that they're looking for. The Tarot readers are as intrinsic to Italy as the street markets are.
They are also into Astrology. While their culture and religion is strictly Catholic, every Italian I know has knowledge of and belief in Astrology, probably because they are descended from the Romans, who practiced Astrology. Many ancient churches in Italy contain beautiful and ornate horoscope wheels.
jennabet wrote: 26 Sep 2017, 11:29
Yes, Tarot is an Italian thing. We have Tarot readers on the cable TV channels every day in Italy and the Italians, men and women, rely on them for specific information that they're looking for. The Tarot readers are as intrinsic to Italy as the street markets are.
They are also into Astrology. While their culture and religion is strictly Catholic, every Italian I know has knowledge of and belief in Astrology, probably because they are descended from the Romans, who practiced Astrology. Many ancient churches in Italy contain beautiful and ornate horoscope wheels.
I must point out that definitely not all the Italians believe in tarot readings and astrology. Probably more than in other parts of Europe though.
The older generations who lived in southern Italy certainly remember the sound of the bells or the siren that occurred at various times of the day. Life was marked by simple and repetitive gestures: work, the relationship with nature, sharing with the family and the people of the small villages. Now...
