La magia del Natale - Here come the Varvuole

Descrizione

Every year, on 5 January at sunset, the spectacle comes from the sea: after the herald's announcement, out of the fog the Varvuole appear in the harbour aboard their ‘batele’, the typical lagoon boats.

In their net coats, with hair made of wire, wooden legs, long pointed teeth and fiery eyes, amidst chilling shrieks and whirling dances, the witches arrive on dry land with only one aim: to take away the naughty children. According to tradition, the only antidote to fight them is to rub the metal fixtures of the house with garlic and, if necessary, sprinkle the corners of the houses with holy water.

This is the re-enactment of a very old legend rooted in history, at the time of the raids of the warlike Uskoks, pirates from Dalmatia, who poured onto the Adriatic coast to escape the advance of the Turks, against whom they fought fiercely.
They were ragged pirates, but formidable warriors, often hired by the Austrians, harnessed with iron mouth guards, wooden overshoes and dressed in wide skirts in Turkish fashion, garments that influenced the popular imagination to the point of turning them into the sea witches called Varvuole.

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Comune di Grado