Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy. Within the Italian territory, various peoples have followed one another over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianization, especially those concerning demons, which are sometimes recognized by Christian demonology. Italian folklore also includes the genre of the fairy tale (where the term itself was born), folk music, folk dance and folk heroes.
Figures and legends of Italian folklore
Below is a list of the folklore figures who have animated Italian folk tales since ancient Rome.
Traditional characters
In Italian folklore, the Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi Kings. A popular belief is that her name derives from the Feast of Epiphany (). Santa Lucia is a holy woman who delivers gifts to children of Bergamo and province on 13 December, again like Santa Claus.
Alberto da Giussano is a legendary character of the 12th century who would have participated, as a protagonist, in the battle of Legnano on 29 May 1176. In reality, according to historians, the actual military leader of the Lombard League in the famous military battle with Frederick Barbarossa was Guido da Landriano. The Mommotti in the Sardinian tradition they represent an imaginary figure used to frighten children. Sometimes they are associated with the black man or with an evil ogre and their job is to take away children who do not behave well. The Benandanti were linked to a pagan-shamanic peasant cult based on the fertility of the land widespread in Friuli around the 16th-17th century. These were small congregations that worked to protect villages and the crops from the evil intervention of witches. Bombasìn is a monstrous character of the tradition of the Polesine and the Venetian Lagoon. Traditionally linked to the customs of Brusavecia and Carnival, the character has the appearance of an angry bull, and represents the most ferocious and wild side of human nature. Sometimes he is accompanied on parades by peasants who hold him in check with a chain, while the Bombasìn scares young and old in its path. Its name derives from cotton wool, a word that in turn derives from the Greek word for cotton, a material used to build the large black matel that wraps the Bombasìn. More recent tales connect him to the mythical character of King Hadrian and to the Gnomes of Polesine. The Strego is a character of the popular tradition of Garfagnana. Unlike classic witches and sorcerers, dedicated to various exercises of witchcraft and aimed exclusively at procuring evil for people, the witch seems to have a more ambiguous attitude as it is usually disinterested in other human beings preferring to gather in groups to perform non-religious ceremonies. well identified. The Orcolat is a monstrous being that popular tradition indicates as the cause of the earthquakes in Friuli. The Orcolat is a recurring figure especially in the tales of the popular tradition. The Maskinganna, literally "master of deceptions", was a legendary character of Sardinian folklore who enjoyed making fun of sleeping people making them awaken in terror. The Pettenedda is a mythical creature that belongs to the Sardinian tradition and that would live in wells. The legend was probably invented by mothers to scare children and keep them away from wells. The Giufà is referred to in some areas of the country. He is a "village fool", whose actions and words usually serve to provide a moral message. The Marranghino is a fictional character of Lucanian folklore. Its myth shares common traits with that of Monachicchio, and is particularly widespread in the province of Matera. The Sa Mama 'e su Sole ("the Mother of the Sun"), is a fantastic creature of the Sardinian tradition used to scare children who did not want to go to sleep on summer afternoons, when the sun was too strong. The Babau (more rarely Babao, Barabao or Bobo) is in Italian folklore and other European regions, an imaginary monster with undefined characteristics that is traditionally invoked to scare children. The Orco (Ogre in Italian) is a fairy-tale character probably derived from Orcus of Roman mythology, an evil imaginary humanoid monster of enormous tonnage and with an irascible temperament, devouring human flesh, especially children.