In a small village in inland Abruzzo, in the province of L'Aquila, one of the most astonishing festivals in Europe takes place every year. At Cocullo the statue of Saint Dominic the abbot is carried in procession covered with live snakes, which coil around the saint's head, shoulders and arms. It is the feast of the serpari, the snake catchers, a rite in which Christian devotion, knowledge of nature and very ancient memories are woven together in a unique way.
Who Saint Dominic the abbot was
The saint venerated at Cocullo is Dominic of Sora, a Benedictine monk who lived between the tenth and eleventh centuries, born in the Foligno area and founder of several monasteries in central Italy. According to local tradition he stayed in the area and left the village two relics: a molar tooth and a shoe from his mule. Both are kept in the sanctuary and are at the heart of the devotion.
In Abruzzese popular culture Saint Dominic was invoked as a protector against the bites of snakes and rabid dogs, and against toothache. This specialisation explains many of the gestures that accompany the feast.
The serpari and the capture
The feast begins weeks earlier, when the village's snake catchers comb the fields and woods in search of snakes. It is an activity handed down in families and it requires precise knowledge of the land and of the behaviour of the animals, woken from hibernation by the arrival of spring.
They catch non-venomous species of the local fauna, including:
- the four-lined snake (cervone), a large, sturdy colubrid;
- the Aesculapian snake (saettone), agile and slender;
- the grass snake and other common species of the area.
The animals are carefully looked after until the day of the feast and, once the rite is over, released into their natural habitat.
The day of the procession
The feast was traditionally held on the first Thursday of May; for some years now the date has been fixed on 1 May. The day follows a well-defined sequence.
- The little bell. In the sanctuary the faithful pull with their teeth a small chain attached to a little bell: a gesture of devotion linked to the protection of teeth attributed to the saint.
- The earth from the grotto. A little earth is gathered from a niche in the sanctuary, once kept as a sign of protection for the home and the fields.
- Dressing the statue. As the statue leaves the church the serpari lay the snakes on it, and within moments it is covered.
- The procession. The statue makes its way through the village streets, preceded by girls carrying on their heads baskets of ciambellani, large sweet ring-shaped loaves.
The omen of the snakes
During the procession the villagers watch the snakes' behaviour closely. According to a handed-down belief, if the reptiles settle on the saint's head the year will be favourable; if they gather on other parts, the omen is less happy. It is an example of communal divination, similar to that practised elsewhere by watching the smoke of bonfires or the flight of birds.
The ancient roots: the Marsi and Angitia
Many scholars have read the Cocullo feast as the Christianised heir of much older cults. In pre-Roman times the area was inhabited by the Marsi, an Italic people whom Latin authors describe as skilled at charming snakes and treating their bites. Linked to this reputation was the cult of the goddess Angitia, a deity associated with snakes and herbs, worshipped near Lake Fucino.
The passage from goddess to saint is a hypothesis, not a certainty documented at every link. But the thematic continuity is clear: the same territory, the same familiarity with snakes, the same request for protection against a real danger of rural life.
The snake as a symbol
In Christianity the serpent is often a figure of evil, the tempter of Eden crushed by the Virgin. At Cocullo something different happens: the snake is not killed but tamed and offered to the saint. The animal's power is not denied; it is placed at the service of the community.
This ambivalence runs through the whole history of religions. The serpent is death and rebirth, because it sheds its skin; it guards thresholds and treasures; it is wisdom hidden in the earth. The Abruzzese rite preserves this complexity in living form, without reducing it to a single reading.
A studied and protected feast
Throughout the twentieth century the feast of the serpari drew ethnologists, photographers and documentary makers, and it is regarded as a key case study for Italian religious anthropology. Today the Cocullo community pairs tradition with growing attention to animal welfare and species protection, a sign that an ancient rite can go on living in dialogue with contemporary sensibilities.
In short
- At Cocullo the statue of Saint Dominic the abbot is carried in procession covered with live snakes.
- The serpari catch non-venomous species in spring and release them after the feast.
- The bell pulled with the teeth, the earth from the grotto and the ciambellani are part of the rite.
- The snakes' behaviour on the statue is read as an omen for the year.
- Many scholars link the feast to the Marsi and the cult of the goddess Angitia.
