I fucanols, also known as bonfire of St. Anthony, are lit every year especially in small towns in the Southern Italy the night of St. Anthony Abbot, which falls on the January 17. It is no accident that this day is chosen, in fact the saint is considered the "protector of fire."

The most famous are those of Campaign in the province of Salerno, in which the occasion, perhaps unintentionally, is also meant to recall the death of philosopher Giordano Bruno, placed at the burning under accusation of heresy. How come Campagna of all places? Giordano Bruno spent some time in this small town, moreover in 1573 he became a priest in the very Convent of the Dominican Fathers of Campagna.

Every year in Campagna, a party local, the first of the year, with tables filled with typical products and dishes, culminating in the nearby Carnival and in the "cantata of Zeza", a curtain call accompanied by trombone and bass drum and staged in the late evening of the Mardi Gras.

Among the culinary specialties featured in the festival we absolutely must mention the "skein and fasule", an interweaving of pasta similar to the noodles and combined with the beans, the polenta in its thousands of variations, the ever-present hanged caciocavallo and the sausages villages, which perfectly match the "vruoccoli scuppettiati", of course all accompanied by a good wine local.

But let us return for a moment to the bonfires, which are the real stars of the festival. Among the locals it almost becomes a challenge set the most beautiful bonfire, a big one that captures the attention of all passersby; and that is why they are lit everywhere, among the alleys and neighborhoods of downtown, near public buildings, churches and squares; immediately after that there is a procession crossing and blessing the city with the statue of the saint, normally kept in the Cathedral of Campagna, followed in turn by the fireworks at Largo di Sant'Antonio.

The city becomes a riot of light, colors and music On this magical night.

It happens that the fire is lit as early as the eve Jan. 17: wood of all kinds, of acacias, beech trees and cerri, is collected in the woods surrounding to build these fires almost as if they were real artworks moving, which are not extinguished until the wood is completely burned.

This festival gathers all the community and also hosts the tourists curious to witness this exposure to open sky. At the origin of the tradition is a meeting between sacred and pagan, between magic and religion: in fact, the returning embers of the bonfires, having been watched over by janitors, become a kind of amulet against misfortune and the bad luck, warding off negative forces. In fact, it is customary to collect the remaining embers and store them once the fires have died down.

The figure of St. Anthony between folklore and legend

Behind the association of this popular holiday with the figure of St. Anthony lie ancient legends and stories. According to one legend Sardinian, for example, St. Anthony would steal fire from theInferno, descending into the underworld with his stick, and then returned to the earth and gave it to men to warm them up and cause them to begin their evolution.

Another legend, that of Lucania, tells instead of a pact Of a woman eager to become mother with the devil: in order to have a son, he agreed that the latter would live with the devils once he turned 12, who soon designated him as the protector of Hell. In fact, St. Anthony is also known as the one who conquered the flames of Hell, which is why it is often associated with fire.