Cocullo is a small town in the L’Aquila area, nestled in the mountains, between the Peligna valley and the Marsica region, and it has become famous because, every year, at the beginning of May, the Festival of the Serpari is held there, in honor of Saint Dominic Abate who, according to tradition, is the protector of men against venomous and rabid animals.
Every first Thursday of May (since 2012 on the first of May), the statue of the saint, around which cervoni of all sizes (harmless snakes captured in the surrounding countryside) coil, parades through the streets of the town amid songs and prayers, followed by a large procession of the faithful, and in front of curious visitors from all over the world.
In its simplicity, the ceremony has a very strong visual and emotional impact, perpetuating a rite that for centuries has mixed religious and pagan elements. The snakes that do not find a place on the statue “parade” carried in the arms of the residents, who begin capturing them already in the weeks preceding the festival.
