Last Saturday night, August 25th, in the small town of Melpignano, a few kilometers from Lecce, the flame of the taranta was rekindled and its heat managed to unleash and entertain around 200,000 people who poured into Piazza San Giorgio to spend the night to the rhythm of the music.
The magic we are talking about comes from the great event La Notte della Taranta (Taranta Night), now in its 21st edition.
In a single night, Melpignano becomes a crossroads of cultures that meet and intertwine, creating an imperceptible border between peoples apparently distant and yet very close.
And, during the evening, the great artists who performed on stage, such as the Italian-American LP, the rapper Clementino and the concert teacher Andrea Mirò, have repeatedly raised a prayer for communication and integration between different peoples, very current topic in the historical period we are going through.
But what is this infamous taranta that causes thousands of people to unleash and for which world-wide events are planned that move the economy of this territory?
The term taranta recalls the ancient phenomenon of tarantism. According to popular belief, tarantism was a disease caused by the bite of the tarantula (Lycosa tarentula), which manifested itself especially in the summer months (harvest period) and which caused a state of general malaise – abdominal pain, state of catalepsy, sweating, palpitations – in which music, dance, and colors represented the fundamental elements of the therapy that consisted, in fact, in a musical exorcism.
Music is, therefore, the fundamental element of this therapy of other times, we could easily say this was the first form of music therapy.
Today there are no more spiders to be chased away and diseases to be exorcised, but the music has remained.
And it has become a real symbol of Puglia. Thousands of people come from far away to live a crazy and unforgettable night.
Next year this event will be repeated. We have our villas ready to welcome you so you can experience this special, sometimes mystical experience. We are tirelessly working to increase our portfolio and add amazing properties. More properties will come soon.
Continue to follow this blog and the poetry of our Puglia will always be at your fingertips.
