Favorite victims of the janaras are children, on whom they vent their hatred by suffocating and tormenting them. Other nefarious events related to their demonic work were miscarriages, infertility and crib deaths.

In many villages in the province of Benevento there are many stories about janare, often very similar to each other differing only in the place where the event took place.

However, there are also other types d witches that characterize the popular history of Benevento. One of these is the Zucculara, which was lame and haunted Triggio, the Roman Theater area of the city.

The name comes from the noisy hooves she wore, and her figure seems to have been inspired by the goddess Hecate who wore only one sandal and was worshipped in the trivium, that is, at crossroads (triggio comes from the Latin trivium).

Another witch was then the Manalonga (long arm) that dwelt in the pits and pulled down anyone who passed nearby. Indeed, the fear of ditches and deep holes seen as gateways to hell is a recurring feature in esoteric myths.

Over the centuries, popular beliefs have survived to the present day and indeed, have been enriched with details and anecdotes that have since influenced the attitudes of the most superstitious. The legend of the witches of Benevento provided inspiration for the creation of the well-known Strega liqueur and to the composition of musical works such as the Benevento-based ballet Noce 1802 by Franz Xaver Süssmayr.

The Benevento Walnut

The oldest accounts of witches in Benevento tell how they used to gather at the feet of a large walnut tree on the banks of the Sabato River. This custom probably came from the pagan ceremonies and rituals of the Lombard communities settled near Benevento from the 6th century onward.

This is evidenced in the essay Of the surviving walnut of Benevento (1639) by the protomedical Pietro Piperno, in which it is reported that the roots of witchcraft in the Benevento area go back to at least the 7th century.

At that time Benevento was the capital of a small Lombard duchy, and the invaders, although converted to Christianity, had not completely abandoned their pagan beliefs. The Lombards thus began to perform a particular ritual near the Sabato River, in honor of the father of the gods Wotan.

During the ritual, warriors would strike a horse with their spears to tear off scraps of it for food. Local Christians were greatly impressed by such bloody rituals, and the priest Barbato openly accused them of idolatry. According to tradition, in 663 the Duke Romuald promised to renounce paganism if the city was saved from attack by the Byzantine emperor Constant II.

After the retreat of the imperial troops, Barbato became bishop of Benevento and himself felling the walnut tree, having a church built in its place. This legend does not perfectly match the actual historical data, but in any case it is clear how the superstition of witches was nevertheless linked to the customs brought by the Lombards.

As for the precise location of the walnut, several hypotheses have been put forward today. According to the alleged witches it was a very tall tree with harmful properties. It is not ruled out that there could also have been more trees.

Pietro Piperno in his work had included a kind of plan that placed the location of the walnut tree in the lands of the noble lord Francesco di Gennaro. Others, however, think that the tree was located in a gorge called Beard Strait, where there is a small forest with an abandoned church next to it.

Benevento's witch hunt

Trials against witchcraft took hold beginning in the 15th century, and a major boost to the persecution of these women came with the publication in 1486 of the famous Malleus Maleficarum, a treatise written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, in which it was explained how to recognize witches, process them, and interrogate them through cruel torture.

Between the 16th and 17th centuries the witch hunt rampant across the European continent, with more than 12,000 victims judged and sentenced to death.

In southern Italy, the courts initially imposed severe punishments only in rare cases, but over time witchcraft accusations and trials began to multiply in that area as well.

The first historical trace relating to Benevento is due to Bernardine of Siena, who preached throughout central Italy and was aware of the tales and rumors about witches in Benevento. In his sermons he often spoke of women, especially those who cured with herbs, midwives, and fortune-tellers.

Instead, the first female figure linked to the Benevento witch myth is Matteuccia di Francesco, better known as Matteuccia da Todi, tried in 1428. This witchcraft case became very important for being the first in which the word witch was used.

Matteuccia had been arrested as a "woman of very bad condition, life and fame, public enchantress, sorceress, mischief-maker and witch." At the time of her trial she was much feared as she had a certain notoriety and her regular customers included not only peasants or people of humble origins, but also characters of higher rank.

According to court documents, Matteuccia used ingredients such as cadaver bones and animals and had admitted to consuming infant blood. In fact, she was accused of killing five babies, and such murders the judges never seemed to doubt.

During the trial Bernardino da Siena suggests to the inquisitor the questions to ask her, and under torture Matteuccia confesses that she flew in the form of a cat riding a demon with the appearance of a goat to the walnut tree of Benevento. She will be Burned at the stake on March 20, 1428.

The court papers then record the formula that Matteuccia used to repeat:

"Ointment ointment

Take me to the Benevento Walnut

Supra acqua et supra vento et supra ad omne malo tempo"

The phrase will often be repeated by other witches subjected to persecution, such as Mariana of St. Sixtus, tried in 1456 and sentenced to death at the stake. Again, Benevento's walnut, ointment, and sabbat are mentioned.

Benevento and Walnut then are mentioned in two other trials brought by the Holy Office in Rome in the 16th century. The first was against Orsini Beauty, an expert in medicinal herbs who had been accused of the murder of a young man she had failed to save. Tortured and pressured, she confessed to everything that was being accused and died in prison by committing suicide.

The second trial with references to witches in Benevento dates back to 1552, when Faustina Orsi is accused of witchcraft and child murder, which she will confess to after being tortured. She will be burned at the stake at the age of 80.

Except for the few surviving historical records, much of the evidence attributable to the Benevento witch legend has now been lost.

According to the Benevento historian Abele De Blasio, at the end of the 19th century there were more than 200 records of witchcraft-related trials in the city's episcopal archives, some of which were destroyed in 1860 so as not to preserve documents that might fuel the anticlerical tendencies of the time. Other parts of this material later disappeared as a result of World War II bombings.

If you are intrigued by the topic, we offer a tour of Benevento and Sant'Agata de' Goti, thanks to which you will get to know two beautiful cities with esoteric and mysterious charm.

On the other hand, those who are wine lovers cannot miss this tour with tasting which allows you to taste the best bottles of Falanghina from some historic wineries.