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Tarantella

The tarantella is a lively folk dance and musical form originating in southern Italy, particularly the region of Apulia (Puglia), characterized by rapid, rhythmic steps typically performed in 6/8 or 3/8 time signatures.^[1]^[2]^[3] It evolved from a solo, frenzied ritual in the 15th to 17th centuries, often linked to tarantism, a hysteria-like condition believed to result from bites by the tarantula spider (Lycosa tarantula), which was thought to be cured through exhaustive dancing.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Over time, it transformed into a flirtatious couples' courtship dance, commonly featured at weddings and festivals, accompanied by instruments such as the tambourine, mandolin, and guitar.^[1]^[3]^[4] Historically rooted in the city of Taranto in Puglia, the tarantella's origins trace back to at least the 15th century, spreading across southern regions like Calabria, Campania, and Sicily during the early modern period.^[1]^[2]^[4] In its therapeutic form, primarily practiced by women from lower socioeconomic classes, dancers—known as tarantate—would perform convulsive movements for hours or days to expel the supposed venom, supported by musicians and community rituals that provided emotional and social outlets.^[3]^[4] By the 19th century, it had been stylized for ballets, operas, and high-society events, shedding much of its medicinal associations while retaining its energetic, staccato style in major and minor keys.^[3] Today, the tarantella endures as a symbol of southern Italian cultural identity, with regional variants such as the pizzica in Salento, sonu a ballu in Calabria, and tammurriata in Campania, each reflecting local traditions.^[1]^[3] Modern revivals, including annual festivals like La Notte della Taranta since 1998 in Puglia, have globalized the dance through workshops, performances, and contemporary reinterpretations by artists and ethnomusicologists.^[3]^[4] Its significance lies in fostering community, expressing joy and flirtation, and preserving intangible heritage amid evolving social contexts.^[1]^[2]

Etymology and Origins

Etymology

The term "tarantella" derives primarily from the name of the southern Italian city of Taranto (Latin Tarantus or Tarentum, Greek Taras), located in the region of Apulia, where the phenomenon first gained prominence in the 14th and 15th centuries.^[5] It is also linked to tarantola, the Italian word for the tarantula spider (Lycosa tarantula), a species native to the area around Taranto, with the spider's name itself originating from the city rather than vice versa.^[6] The earliest documented references to related concepts appear in medieval Italian texts describing outbreaks of compulsive dancing in Apulia during the 15th century, though the specific term for the malady tarantismo (tarantism) emerged more clearly in the 16th and 17th centuries.^[5]^[7] Alternative theories suggest deeper roots in ancient traditions, potentially connecting to ecstatic dances practiced in the region of Magna Graecia (southern Italy's Greek colonies) as early as the 8th century BCE, such as those associated with Dionysian cults—or to Roman saltatio, a lively mimetic dance form—given Taranto's founding as a Spartan Greek colony around 706 BCE.^[8] However, scholarly consensus emphasizes the medieval Italian context, where the term solidified in local dialects and medical writings without direct evidence of unbroken continuity from classical antiquity.^[5]^[7] By the 18th century, "tarantella" had evolved from its origins in the medical hysteria known as tarantism—believed to be induced by the spider's bite and treated through frenzied movement—to denote a structured musical and performative form, particularly within Neapolitan traditions where it was first recorded as a "peasant dance" around 1782.^[5]^[9] This shift marked the term's transition from a descriptor of affliction to a cultural artifact in southern Italian folklore.^[10]

Historical Origins

The tarantella emerged in the 15th century in Apulia (modern-day Puglia), particularly around the city of Taranto, as a lively folk dance rooted in rural traditions of southern Italy.^[1] This development occurred amid the region's agrarian communities, where communal dances served social and celebratory functions during festivals and gatherings. Scholars suggest possible influences from ancient practices in Magna Graecia, the Greek-colonized areas of southern Italy, including ecstatic rituals and fertility dances linked to Dionysian or Cybeline cults that involved rhythmic movements and music to induce trance-like states.^[11]^[8] By the 16th and 17th centuries, the tarantella had spread to neighboring regions including Calabria, Campania, and Sicily, facilitated by trade routes, seasonal migrations of laborers, and cultural exchanges across the Mediterranean.^[1] This dissemination integrated local variations while preserving core rhythmic elements, as evidenced by accounts of similar dances in coastal and inland communities during this period. The dance's association with Taranto or the tarantula spider provided a nominal link, though its evolution was primarily driven by folk practices rather than a single etymological origin.^[1] A pivotal shift occurred after the 17th century with the decline of widespread tarantism outbreaks, which had previously tied the dance to ritualistic contexts; this wane, attributed to changing medical understandings and social norms, prompted the tarantella's secularization into a purely recreational and performative form by the early 18th century.^[12] Concurrently, the first formal written notations of tarantella music and steps appeared in Italian treatises, such as those by Don Francisco Xavier Cid in 1787, marking its transition from oral tradition to documented repertoire.^[13]

Tarantism

Description of Tarantism

Tarantism was a historical folk medical and psychological phenomenon prevalent in southern Italy, particularly in the Apulia region, where it was believed to be caused by the bite of a tarantula spider (Lycosa tarantula) or occasionally other arachnids, leading to a form of mass hysteria characterized by compulsive dancing, often termed "dancing mania."^[14] This condition peaked between the 15th and 17th centuries, with documented cases continuing into the 20th century, including observations by anthropologist Ernesto de Martino in the 1950s, though its roots may trace back to medieval accounts as early as the 11th century.^[14]^[9] It primarily afflicted rural communities in Apulia and surrounding areas like Salento, manifesting as outbreaks that affected entire villages during periods of agricultural labor.^[15] The primary symptoms of tarantism included an uncontrollable urge to dance, often lasting for hours or days until exhaustion, accompanied by fever, tremors, sweating, vomiting, lethargy, and hallucinations such as visions of animals or distorted perceptions.^[14] Additional manifestations encompassed emotional lability, including episodes of laughter, weeping, or melancholy; physical pains in the limbs or chest; breathlessness; and a sensation of numbness or swelling at the supposed bite site, with onset typically occurring between one hour and three days after the alleged incident.^[16] These symptoms were seasonal, predominantly emerging in summer months, especially around June and July, coinciding with the height of fieldwork and midday heat exposure.^[14] Tarantism disproportionately affected women and agricultural workers, with young adult females comprising the majority of reported cases, though it occasionally impacted children, the elderly, monks, and nuns.^[16] The phenomenon exhibited contagious qualities, spreading within communities as observers mimicked the behaviors, reinforcing its status as a collective psychogenic illness tied to the hardships of rural life in southern Italy.^[14] Contemporary medical and anthropological analyses interpret tarantism not as a genuine toxicological response to spider venom—which lacks the potency to induce such widespread effects—but as a psychogenic disorder akin to hysteria or mass neurosis, potentially serving as a cultural mechanism for emotional release in a repressive agrarian society.^[14] Some scholars have proposed links to ergotism, a fungal poisoning from contaminated rye that causes convulsions and hallucinations, drawing parallels to broader European dancing manias, though evidence for this in Apulia remains limited.^[17] Others view it through a sociopsychiatric lens as a manifestation of unconscious conflicts, comparable to Freudian hysteria, providing a ritual outlet for societal tensions among marginalized rural women.^[15] In this context, the associated tarantella dance functioned as a ritual response to alleviate symptoms, though its therapeutic mechanisms are debated as suggestive or placebo-based.^[14]

Role of Dance in Treatment

In the historical context of tarantism, a condition prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to 17th centuries but persisting into the 20th, the tarantella dance served as the primary folk remedy believed to counteract the effects of a tarantula spider bite. Afflicted individuals, often diagnosed by local healers, were thought to harbor a venom that induced lethargy, melancholy, or hysterical symptoms, which could only be expelled through prolonged, frenzied dancing to induce sweating and physical exhaustion. This therapeutic approach stemmed from the cultural belief that rhythmic movement mimicked the spider's erratic motions, thereby drawing out and purging the poison from the body. Cases were documented into the mid-20th century, with anthropologist Ernesto de Martino observing rituals in the 1950s.^[14]^[9] The ritual process typically began with the arrival of specialized musicians and healers, who were summoned by the patient's family to initiate the treatment. Patients would dance continuously for hours or even days, starting at sunrise and pausing midday for rest, bathing, and sweating under covers before resuming until sunset; this cycle could repeat for weeks if necessary to achieve full recovery. Musicians played repetitive, uptempo tarantella tunes on instruments like tambourines, fiddles, and pipes, adjusting melodies based on the patient's responses to match the supposed "type" of bite—such as faster rhythms for agitation or slower ones for melancholy—believed to resonate with the specific venom. Healers, including local magicians, priests, or community elders, guided the session by providing props like ropes for swinging or swords for symbolic gestures, ensuring the dance continued without interruption to prevent relapse or death from untreated venom. Offerings were often made to Saint Paul, the patron saint of tarantism, incorporating prayers and processions to sanctify the ritual.^[15]^[18]^[19] Seventeenth-century accounts by physicians and scholars provide detailed observations of these practices. Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher, in his 1641 work Magnes and later Phonurgia Nova (1673), described tarantism rituals extensively, including musical notations for curative tunes and emphasizing how specific harmonies provoked the necessary dance to expel the poison; he viewed music as a magnetic force aligning the body's humors. Other contemporaries, such as Epifanio Ferdinando and Giorgio Baglivi, documented cases where patients danced violently in ceremonial settings until cured, noting the involvement of priests in exorcism-like elements tied to demonic or poisonous influences. These rituals often culminated in a pilgrimage to chapels like that of Saint Paul in Galatina, where silent dances and vows reinforced the therapeutic belief.^[20]^[14]^[15] By the 18th century, tarantism treatments declined as scientific medicine gained prominence, with physicians like Baglivi attributing the phenomenon to hysteria rather than spider venom and dismissing dance rituals as superstitious. Skepticism from Enlightenment thinkers and epidemiological shifts reduced reported cases, leading to a significant decline by the late 1700s, though practices persisted into the mid-20th century before fading.^[20]^[18]

The Dance

Characteristics and Steps

The tarantella is a fast-paced folk dance traditionally performed in 6/8 time, creating a lively, rhythmic pulse that drives its energetic execution.^[21] In modern festive settings, it typically lasts 5-10 minutes, allowing dancers to build intensity through progressive acceleration.^[22] The dance accommodates solo, couple, or group formats, with a strong emphasis on improvisation that enables performers to infuse personal flair and spontaneity into the movements.^[1] Central to the tarantella are its quick footwork patterns, such as crossing the right foot over the left and then the left over the right while shifting side to side, often executed in sequences of four steps.^[22] The signature tarantella step involves kicking one foot forward, followed by a step and a touch of the opposite foot, repeated three times per sequence and built into four full repetitions for rhythmic flow.^[22] Dancers incorporate dynamic elements like spins, jumps, and leaps, which heighten the frenetic quality, alongside strikes on the tambourine held by one or both partners to punctuate the beat.^[1] In couple performances, flirtatious gestures dominate, symbolizing playful pursuit through actions like the do-si-do—where partners circle each other while tracing a tambourine in a triangular pattern from shoulder to hip—or the man kneeling to tap the tambourine in seven counts (with a double tap on the eighth) as the woman circles him with eight tarantella steps.^[22] These interactions convey teasing and courtship, with hands often placed on hips to accentuate expressive poses.^[22] Performance etiquette centers on communal participation, with dancers forming circles or lines and joining hands to move counterclockwise before reversing direction after each full rotation, fostering a sense of unity.^[23] Commonly featured at weddings and festivals, the dance demands sustained energy and endurance, evoking an ecstatic release through its whirling, relentless motion.^[22]

Regional Variations

The tarantella manifests in distinct regional styles across southern Italy, each adapted to local cultural contexts while sharing a rhythmic foundation in 6/8 time. In Puglia, particularly the Salento area, the variant known as pizzica emphasizes an intense, trance-inducing quality, with dancers engaging in circular movements and frenzied steps to evoke historical healing rituals. This style features two phases: a slower, grounded "on-the-floor" segment with deliberate arm and head gestures, transitioning to rapid, standing circular dances that build to ecstatic energy.^[24] Instrumentation typically includes violin, accordion, and drum, amplifying the aggressive tempo around 100 beats per minute.^[24] In Calabria, the tarantella, often called sonu a ballu or viddhaneddha, adopts a more measured pace with narrative-driven group formations that simulate courtship or rivalry through skipping steps and skirt flourishes. Dancers form pairs or lines, incorporating dueling gestures between men or flirtatious interactions between genders, reflecting ancient Greek influences from Magna Graecia settlements in the region. Socially, it serves ritualistic purposes, including communal expressions tied to seasonal cycles and fertility, with performances varying in pulse articulation to allow improvisational storytelling.^[1]^[25] Instrumentation leans toward bagpipes and percussion for a hypnotic, modular structure of short melodic fragments recombined live.^[26] Campanian versions, centered in Naples as tammurriata or tarantella napoletana, are lighter and more playful, focusing on courtship through teasing steps, claps, and castanet accents that highlight flirtatious exchanges between partners. Integrated into urban festivals by the 17th century, this style evolved from rural roots into a refined social dance, often performed in couples with quick side-to-side hops and turns.^[1]^[10] In Sicily, the tarantella siciliana shares this courtship orientation but incorporates more string-heavy accompaniment, such as mandolins alongside tambourines, in sets of four couples executing step-hops, chassés, and buzz turns in 6/8 time. Regional differences extend to instrumentation—Sicily favoring strings for melodic intricacy—and social functions, with Calabrian rites emphasizing fertility and communal narrative over the lighter, partner-focused playfulness in Campania and Sicily.^[27]^[28]

Music

Musical Form and Rhythm

The tarantella genre is defined by its typically compound duple meter of 6/8 time, though also in 3/8 time, creating a lively, galloping rhythm that propels the music forward.^[3] This time signature supports a characteristic pattern of two strong beats per measure, often with accents on the first and fourth eighth notes, fostering a sense of urgency and repetition suitable for the accompanying dance. Regional variants may use 12/8 time or other compound meters, reflecting local traditions. The tempo is typically marked presto, emphasizing a rapid pace that intensifies the feverish quality of the form, though specific metronome markings vary across performances and arrangements, generally ranging from allegro to very brisk executions. Structurally, the tarantella often employs a ternary or rondo-like form, such as ABA or A-B-A-coda, which allows for thematic repetition and contrast while maintaining the dance's energetic flow.^[29] This organization reflects its roots in folk traditions, where sections build progressively to heighten excitement, sometimes incorporating variations that accelerate toward a climactic ending. Rhythmic elements include syncopated accents and staccato articulations that mimic erratic, spider-like movements, adding to the genre's distinctive vitality.^[3] These patterns synchronize closely with the dance's quick footwork, ensuring the music drives the performers' synchronized steps. Harmonically, tarantellas favor simplicity, in both major and minor keys, with diatonic progressions and repetitive melodic motifs to sustain momentum without complex modulations.^[3] Nineteenth-century composers adapted this framework, as in Gioachino Rossini's "La Danza" from Les soirées musicales (1835), a patter song that captures the tarantella's rapid, repetitive rhythm in 6/8 time.^[30] Similarly, Franz Liszt's "Tarantella" from Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année, Italie (revised 1850s) expands the traditional structure with lyrical interludes and thematic transformations, while preserving the core 6/8 pulse and presto tempo.^[31]

Instrumentation and Performance

The tambourine, or tamburello, serves as the foundational rhythmic instrument in tarantella music, providing a driving pulse through rapid strikes and shakes that underpin the dance's energetic momentum.^[32] For melody, string instruments such as the violin or mandolin typically lead, delivering intricate, flowing lines that evoke the form's lively character.^[1] Harmony is often supplied by the accordion or organetto, a diatonic button accordion that adds a robust, portable texture suited to folk gatherings.^[33] Vocal elements frequently incorporate call-and-response patterns, where singers alternate phrases to heighten communal engagement during performances.^[32] In traditional folk settings, tarantella performances emphasize improvisation, with musicians engaging in spontaneous jamming to adapt rhythms and melodies on the fly, fostering an interactive atmosphere that mirrors the dance's improvisational nature.^[1] Ensembles range from solo players—often a single musician on organetto or tamburello—to small groups of three to five, allowing flexibility for intimate village celebrations or larger festivals.^[32] In modern revivals, additions like the guitar enhance the harmonic layers, blending acoustic strumming with traditional elements to appeal to contemporary audiences while preserving the core improvisational spirit.^[1] Historically, 16th-century tarantella instrumentation relied on rustic wind and percussion instruments, including the bagpipe (zampogna) for droning bass, the shawm-like ciaramella for piercing melodies, and frame drums for propulsion, reflecting the pastoral and ritualistic contexts of southern Italy.^[33] By the 19th century, as tarantella motifs entered classical compositions and opera, instrumentation evolved toward formalized orchestras, incorporating strings, winds, and full percussion sections to amplify the 6/8 rhythm's vitality in theatrical settings.^[34]

Cultural Significance

In Folklore and Rituals

In southern Italian folklore, the tarantella embodies symbols of fertility, exorcism, and courtship, linked to its historical association with tarantism. As a ritual dance, it invokes the life-giving forces of nature, with movements evoking renewal and the earth's bounty.^[35] The dance's flirtatious interplay between partners, often involving teasing pursuits and retreats with handkerchiefs, represents courtship dynamics, fostering romantic bonds within community settings.^[1] Exorcistic elements stem from its role in purging spiritual or emotional afflictions, transforming personal turmoil into collective catharsis through trance-like performance.^[35] The tarantella features prominently in weddings, known as la tarantella nuziale, where it symbolizes marital unity, joy, and the harmonious balance of masculine and feminine energies, drawing couples and guests into a celebratory circle to bless the union.^[1] In harvest celebrations, particularly in rural Sicily and Calabria, it marks the culmination of agricultural labor, with groups performing vigorous steps to honor abundance and communal resilience, as seen in traditional gatherings like the Sicilian u ballu a chiovu.^[36] These occasions reinforce social ties, turning the dance into a vessel for gratitude and shared prosperity. Ritual contexts extend to summer festivals such as the Notte della Taranta in Puglia, an annual event in Melpignano that revives ancient healing practices through nonstop pizzica performances, attracting over 200,000 participants to enact symbolic exorcisms rooted in tarantism lore.^[37] Symbolic spider motifs appear in local stories, representing affliction and redemption—the tarantula as a metaphor for inner demons overcome by rhythmic fervor.^[38] Socially, the tarantella fosters community bonding in rural southern Italy, serving as a unifying force in patriarchal societies where group dances during festivals and gatherings strengthen interpersonal networks and collective identity.^[37] For women, it offered empowerment, providing a sanctioned outlet to express suppressed emotions and challenge gender norms; in tarantism rituals, afflicted females led performances that garnered communal support, relocating their marginalization into recognized agency.^[39]^[35]

Modern Interpretations and Revivals

In the 20th century, the tarantella experienced a significant revival, particularly in southern Italy, where traditional forms like the pizzica gained renewed popularity through cultural festivals and heritage initiatives. The annual La Notte della Taranta festival in Puglia, which began in 1998, has become a central hub for this resurgence, drawing up to 200,000 attendees to its culminating concert in Melpignano and celebrating pizzica music and dance across multiple locations; the 28th edition took place on August 23, 2025.^[40]^[41] Efforts to formalize its cultural status include initiatives by local UNESCO-affiliated organizations, such as the 2019 attempt by the Club UNESCO of Galatina to nominate tarantism and pizzica for inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting their role in community identity and therapeutic practices.^[42] The tarantella's global spread has led to its adaptation in various artistic mediums, influencing ballet, film, and contemporary music. In ballet, George Balanchine's 1964 Tarantella, premiered by the New York City Ballet, reimagines the folk dance as a virtuosic pas de deux set to Louis Moreau Gottschalk's Grande Tarantelle, blending Neapolitan flair with classical technique and emphasizing playful competition between dancers.^[43] In cinema, the dance features prominently in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), where a lively tarantella at a wedding scene underscores themes of family and tradition, contributing to its portrayal as a symbol of Italian-American heritage.^[44] Modern music interpretations include electronic remixes, such as Italian DJ Gabry Ponte's 2024 track Tarantella featuring KEL, which fuses traditional rhythms with EDM to appeal to international audiences via platforms like Spotify and YouTube. These adaptations have helped disseminate the tarantella beyond its origins, often evoking its historical ecstatic energy. Contemporary neo-tarantism movements in Puglia revive the dance as a form of expressive therapy, drawing on its ritualistic roots to address mental health through communal pizzica sessions that promote catharsis and emotional release. Practitioners and scholars describe neo-tarantism as a response to modern stresses, where participants enter trance-like states via repetitive rhythms, echoing historical tarantism while adapting it for psychological well-being without the spider-bite mythology.^[45] However, this revival intersects with tourism-driven commercialization, as festivals like La Notte della Taranta boost Puglia's economy but spark debates over authenticity; critics argue that mass events risk diluting sacred elements into spectacle, while supporters view them as vital for preservation and economic sustainability in rural areas.^[40]

References

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[43]
The Tarantula-Possessed Women Who Could Only Be Cured By ...
Oct 26, 2015 · Tarantism was an expression of this marginality: a way for these women to manifest their social suffering, have that suffering recognized, and relocate ...
[44]
Pizzica: the centuries-old Italian folk music still whipping up a frenzy
Aug 15, 2023 · That certainly explains its trance-like intensity, with violins, guitars, accordions and singers all charging along at 100 BPM, while dancers ...Missing: characteristics | Show results with:characteristics
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[PDF] Safeguarding the Core - Uppsala University
Jul 1, 2025 · There has been an attempt in 2019 to open a dossier to enlist taranta and pizzica in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (RAI, 2019) ...
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Tarantella | New York City Ballet
Principal Dancer Daniel Ulbricht describes how George Balanchine turned an Italian folk dance based on a myth about spiders into a six minute powerhouse of a ...
[47]
The Tarantella - La Gazzetta Italiana
This is the traditional southern Italian folk dance called the tarantella. Depending on the region of Italy, the tarantella is known by different names.
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[PDF] MARGINS OF 'NEOTARANTISM' IN CONTEMPORARY APULIA
Jun 27, 2024 · Tarantism is a therapeutic dance carried out in Salento, a strip of land in the province of Lecce, Puglia, 40 km wide and 100 km long, ...