WEREWOLVES AND PUGLIA
“Puglia is a land of werewolves, as demonstrated by the dozens of stories set in this territory handed down over the centuries, featuring these beings who are half man and half beast. Not only. It seems that lycanthropy originated here.”
Lycanthrope derives from Lycaon, king of Arcadia, who seems to have been very prolific. He had fifty children, including Peucezio, who, after arriving in Italy, gave his name to that part of the Apulian territory which he called Peucezia. Lycaon, after having sacrificed one of his sons to Zeus, was transformed into a wolf, as punishment for the terrible deed he had done.
According to the legend that has come down to us, the loss of its original identity and its transformation into a werewolf took place in Puglia. In the first century AD, Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, wrote that the belief in the existence of werewolves was widespread among the Roman people.
He also provided interesting details on the extraordinary powers of the wolf, such as its ability to mute the man who first laid eyes on it, and on the magical character of its tail, in which, according to him, was hidden a effective love talisman. In the Middle Ages, then, many men considered werewolves were accused of massacres perpetrated against children and acts of cannibalism. For this reason, many of them were hunted down and brutally killed. This real devil's disease, as lycanthropy was considered in the past, acted deeply in the imagination of the people. For example, it was believed that those who came into the world between December 24 and 25 became bearers of a double nature, bestial and human at the same time, because only Christ could be born "pure" on Christmas night.
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It was the boys who fell ill with lycanthropy. On this night, therefore, the fathers of the newborns had to free the little one from the evil that had come. As? For example, in Lecce the parent of the unfortunate child climbed onto the roof and shouted: «È natu nu' sorcerone alla casa mia» ("A sorcerer was born in my house"), and so the wind would carry away what had been shouted . Furthermore, lycanthropy could be cured. The most suitable way was to hit the werewolf in the forehead during the crisis because it was believed that evil spirits would also come out with the infected blood.
In the early 19th century, psychiatrists recognized that wolfweres are nothing more than people with mental disorders. The mental alteration of which they are victims is now classified among the delusional disorders of the somatic type. However, if you have unfinished business with your psychiatrist and instead of the medical theory on werewolves you prefer to give more weight to legendary tales, try to get yourself a silver bullet, or an ash stake.
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“Documented cases of lycanthropy in Puglia”
Image of a miniature of the Middle Ages on the Werewolf
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“A werewolf in Lecce?”
In the first days of September 1946 in Lecce there was no talk of anything else. The newspaper The Province of Lecce of 15 September 1946 tells of "scenes of terror" and "heartbreaking cries". And of a "wild beast" that would roam around San Cesario di Lecce. The chronicles describe the life of a quiet worker, "affectionate with his family who, in certain periods of the year, under the influence of the moon, was transformed into a ferocious wolf". Great fear among the population. The descriptions are many, in some cases they are similar, in other cases they are conflicting. There is talk of "very long arms, hooked hands, monstrous fingers", with "strong nails" over "twelve centimeters" long. And again "terrifying gaze" "deep voice" and "lacerating howls". And beyond the scary descriptions? There are the Carabinieri of San Cesareo who for days and days go in search of this being with unsuccessful results.
The werewolf of Bari
On April 4, 1950, another case was told in the Bari area. An article by the The Gazette of the South. The newspapers, of course, throw themselves on these stories that are frightening, but arouse great curiosity among their readers. In short, with an article that delves into a story of werewolves, with news hooks even if a little forced, it is certain that citizens will not let the story slip away. The article refers to a man who allegedly took on the appearance of an animal at midnight. It's not much. And there is no ending worthy of note: the usual searches of which little or nothing has been known.
In Rutigliano in 1974
It is the most recent fact. In this case there is no mention of the involvement of people: the werewolf that roams between the districts of Ciaccia and Casiglio, in the territory of Rutigliano, hangs out with the animals, especially dogs, which have been found bitten and partly eaten. Also in this case the searches did not lead to findings. Even if something remains: they are large footprints noticed by the farmers of the area. It seems that in the days following the discovery of the large footprints, other mauled dogs were found. There is talk of great fear among the population. At one point, a hunt for the beast is organized whose appearance is unknown. But the newspaper does not tell whether the being was found or not.
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