Festa di San Domenico Abate con rito dei serpari (Snake Handlers Festival)

The Festa di San Domenico Abate con il rito dei serpari is a historic celebration held in Cocullo, a charming Abruzzo village nestled between the Peligna Valley and Marsica. The feast honors the 10th-century Benedictine monk revered as the protector against snakebites, fevers, and rabies. Tradition holds that the saint gifted the community one of his molar teeth and a horseshoe from his mule as a sign of enduring protection. The highlight of the festival is the evocative procession through the village streets, where the wooden statue of San Domenico is draped with live, harmless snakes. These non-venomous reptiles, carefully gathered across the surrounding countryside by local snake handlers ('serpari'), are carried alongside the handlers themselves—a tradition rooted in the ancient medieval figure of the 'ciarallo'.