The pizzica is a particular type of folk dance widespread in Apulia, especially in the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi, Taranto and Bari, but also in parts of Basilicata. Its name seems to be intertwined with that of the more famous tarantella, both musically and choreographically. La pizzica salentina is thus counted in the vast family of dances known precisely as tarantelle, or that group of dances widespread in modern times in central and southern Italy.

The origins of the pizzica

Long skirts, waving headscarves and bare feet: this is how the pizzica is danced in Salento, as a universal language to tell the story of the local rural people who still protect the pizzica as a symbol of folklore. But how did the tradition of pizzica originate in Apulia?

The earliest written traces date back to the 18th century, in which reference is made to this dance in Taranto and Brindisi. In April 1797, noblemen from Taranto offered King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon an evening of dancing. The text of the dance speaks of "pizzica pizzica" as a ennobled tarantella contradance, that is, in pairs lined up facing each other.

It was not until the early 20th century that the pizzica appeared as we know it and thus as a proper couple's dance, becoming a mostly playful dance reserved for moments of celebration and sociability. According to various scholars, however, this dance is much older. In fact, there are those who claim that the pizzica arrived from the Greece, as a rite dedicated to the worship of the god Bacchus, during which people indulged in unrestrained festivities without pause.

The pizzica and tarantismo

The pizzica is also known by the name "taranta" and was originally employed as a dance-antidote against the bites of spiders and tarantulas. It often happened in the countryside to be attacked by poisonous spiders that caused a trance-like state, treatable only by dancing. So the pizzica served as an accompaniment to the ritual of tarantism.

The dance was played by orchestras composed of various instruments, including violin and tambourine, with the purpose of exorcising the tarantate women to heal them of the poison through the dance that the frenzied music unleashed. Such events were attended collectively, indulging in dance for a kind of liberating moment.

However, the pizzica played on such occasions had special characteristics that distinguished it from that used for village festivals. Made famous by the master violinist Luigi Stifani, the pizzica tarantata was performed at a very brisk pace to urge those who had been bitten by the tarantula to dance and get rid of the poison through the emission of sweat.

Colorful ribbons, blankets with floral designs and colored handkerchiefs were also sometimes used in the therapeutic ritual of tarantism to stimulate sight. Today it can be said that the tarantism is a vanished tradition, but in recent decades many scholars have become interested in this ancient folk phenomenon.

The traditional pizzica and the neo-pizzica

Since World War II, the traditional pizzica has been increasingly thinning in use, replaced by more modern or foreign dances and dances. Only in the areas of the Itria Valley and of the Lower Murgia between Bari, Taranto, Lecce and Brindisi the dance has remained intact. Especially in the municipalities of Ostuni, Villa Castelli, Cisternino and Martina Franca, the presence of organ players is still strong, and here the tradition has never died out, leaving the vast cultural baggage to later generations.

Contrary to what many people imagine, pizzica is not always a dance of courtship. In fact, it is often danced at family parties and and close relatives and family members are found dancing. So the dance between siblings or grandfather and grandchildren can be a time of fun and joking.

Today, however, a distinction must be made between traditional pizzica and that reinvented by youth fashion since the mid-1990s and called "neo-pizzica." The more classical pizzica belonged stylistically and choreographically to the southern tarantellas, with basic figures such as dancing and turning, to which are added spins and figures linked by hand or arms. Instead, neopizzica borrowed the most popular dance forms from foreign dance models (flamenco, tango), emphasizing the dancers' emotions and adding euphoria and shouting.

Symbol par excellence of the pizzica, both traditional and newer, is the handkerchief, an accessory that can never be missing from the clothing of dancers and was used to invite the chosen partner. Popular belief has it that this object is a symbol of love or abandonment in the hands of the woman who grants it during the dance only to the boy who is able to steal her heart. More likely, however, the accessory served primarily to enliven even more the dance itself.

During street festivals, fairs and festivals, musicians perform the so-called patrol, that is, a piece of music made with voices and tambourines, recognizable by a beating rhythm and very engaging for those who attend. The main instrument is the Lecce tambourine, sometimes accompanied by violin, guitar, accordion or mandolin. The music is then joined by a solo voice that sings love poems in Salento dialect.

Modern pizzica is based on the skill of dancers and musicians who have taken traditional notes and repurposed the melodies of the past in a more contemporary key. The pizzica has thus crossed the borders of Puglia thanks to events of national significance such as the famous Taranta Night, the Salento music festival that has been held every August for more than 20 years and is a great success with the public.