Cocullo is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' and

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the Province of

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

, located in the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. As of 2013 its population was of 246.

Geography

The village is situated in the Peligna Valley, between the towns of

Avezzano Avezzano ( or ; nap, Avezzàne, label=Neapolitan language, Marsicano ) is a city and ''comune'' with a population of 40,819 inhabitants, situated in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila, Italy. It is the second most populous municipality in th ...

and

Sulmona Sulmona ( nap, label= Abruzzese, Sulmóne; la, Sulmo; grc, Σουλμῶν, Soulmôn) is a city and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared in ...

. It is linked with them by the A25 motorway and the Rome-Pescara railway line. It is a single civil parish (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

''), named Casale and borders with the municipalities of

Anversa degli Abruzzi Anversa degli Abruzzi ( Abruzzese: ') is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Euro ...

Bugnara Bugnara is a ''comune'' and village in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. In 2007, it was designated as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy (i borghi più belli d'Italia), an association that notes sma ...

Castel di Ieri Castel di Ieri is a '' comune'' and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demo ...

Castelvecchio Subequo Castelvecchio Subequo (also Subrequo and Subrego; la, Superaequum, ) is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region, central Italy, at the feet on Mount Sirente. History Ancient Superaequum was a town of the Paelign ...

Goriano Sicoli Goriano Sicoli is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Goriano is a medieval town of about 600 people (2013). The town, which sits on top of a mountain in southeast Abruzzo (about an hour and a half ea ...

Ortona dei Marsi Ortona dei Marsi is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is included in traditional area of Marsica. The commune is part of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. Ortona dei Marsi is situ ...

and Prezza.

History

The origins of Cocullo are closely related to the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

town of Koukoulon, situated between Cocullo village and Casale.

Snake Festival (Feast of San Domenico)

Cocullo is known for its singular patron saint's holiday, named '' Festa dei Serpari'', in which the patron saint's statue ( Domenico di Sora) is transported in

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

covered with many snakes (mainly four-lined, aesculapian,

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

and green whip snakes). The reptiles themselves are transported in procession by local ''serpari'', a sort of " snake breeders", and released in the surrounding woods at the end of the holiday. The festival, set every first of May since 2012 (in the past it took place every first Thursday in May), is a receptive event for thousands of Italian and foreign visitors. In 2009 it was cancelled due to some structural damages occurred into the village after the L'Aquila earthquake. This tradition, present also in coat of arms symbolism, substituted the ancient Roman mythologic ritual of

Angitia Angitia was a goddess among the Marsi, the Paeligni and other Oscan-Umbrian peoples of central Italy. She was associated in antiquity with snake-charmers who claimed her as their ancestor. Roman interpretations probably obscure her Marsian signi ...

, a snake

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

worshipped by the

Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. ...

.A Guide to the Region Abruzzo

Photogallery

File:Santa Maria delle Grazie, Cocullo 4.JPG, The main church of

Our Lady of Graces Our Lady of Graces (Italian: ''Madonna delle Grazie'' or ''Nostra Signora delle Grazie'') or Saint Mary of Graces (Italian: ''Santa Maria delle Grazie'') is a devotion to the Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. Several churches with this d ...

(''Santa Maria delle Grazie'') in central Cocullo.

Notes and references

External links

*
Cocullo official website
* Videos and photos of the snake festival and procession i
Cocullo
* Feast of San Domenic

{{authority control Cities and towns in Abruzzo