Abruzzo still preserves some agro-pastoral rites based on winter fire like the 'Glories' (wooden bundles) of San Martin, in Scanno.
The rites of the fire perhaps had the function, as the winter equinox approaches, to overcome the atavistic fear that the light of the sun would fail and, at the same time, to propitiate its return.
Scanno is crossed by a festive animation, shouts and calls along the streets and alleys. The three groups in which the districts are divided begin the construction of the Glorie in a joyful atmosphere.
Among the noises of hammers, saws, recalls, orders, the flasks of new wine pass from hand to hand while the meat sizzles on the embers of improvised kitchens. During the abundant libations the Glorie stands out boldly higher and higher in a breathtaking view on one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Even the little ones build their glory that will be burned before the big one, with the coals still warm they dye the faces intoning songs and with cowbells, bins, drums produce as much noise as possible.
The feeling is that we are witnessing ancient agrarian rituals to remove the dark and underground forces that endanger the newly planted seeds.
The lighting of the Glorie requires a certain courage and is entrusted to a boy as in a rite of passage: with the launch of a long perch carrying the fuse ignites the primers arranged along the Glorie that must burn entirely in an explosion of light and flames.
The three bonfires shine in the night around Scanno to purify and make the earth fertile.
Scanno is crossed by a festive animation, shouts and calls along the streets and alleys. The three groups in which the districts are divided begin the construction of the Glorie in a joyful atmosphere. Among the noises of hammers, saws, recalls, orders, the flasks of new wine pass from hand to hand while the meat sizzles on the embers of improvised kitchens. During the abundant libations the Glorie stands out boldly higher and higher in a breathtaking view on one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Even the little ones build their glory that will be burned before the big one, with the coals still warm they dye the faces intoning songs and with cowbells, bins, drums produce as much noise as possible.
The feeling is that we are witnessing ancient agrarian rituals to remove the dark and underground forces that endanger the newly planted seeds.
The lighting of the Glorie requires a certain courage and is entrusted to a boy as in a rite of passage: with the launch of a long perch carrying the fuse ignites the primers arranged along the Glorie that must burn entirely in an explosion of light and flames.
The three bonfires shine in the night around Scanno to purify and make the earth fertile.