Located between the Peligna and the valley of Fucino, Cocullo keeps the characters of ancient medieval village. Dominated by the tower of the castle of the Piccolomini, is well worth visiting the church of Madonna delle Grazie, unmissable is the feast of St. Dominic, the first Thursday in May, with the famous procession of snake-charmers.
Cocullo bears the name and form the "greek conculion'' (shell) and" Latin for'' cucullus hat-shaped tip, because the country is a cap rock that rises over the Valley of Sagittarius. Its history can be started from the Middle Ages, since almost all the ancient manuscripts were burned around the fifties, to rid the premises of the Church of St. Nicholas where they were kept until then. Two thousand years ago Cocullo was mentioned by the historian Strabo (born in Greece and educated in Rome) in the 5 th book of his work "Geography", along with Carseldine and defined "Cuculum oppidum" (fortress), situated on a small hill to dominate the valley and protect it and to feel protected in turn. Upstream of the town of Casale (fraction of Cocullo) there was a town called "Trianella", very famous in those days, formed from many quarters, including perhaps the present Cocullo. Trianella was heavily populated and you can imagine from the said "one hundred thousand Trianella Trianella fucarella", where the latter term stood for many families. Here people worshiped the god Hercules, who handles the snakes these animals symbolized abundance, fertility and wealth.
Later, these pagan roots were assimilated by the Catholic tradition, but it gives them a different meaning, seeing the snake as a hostile pet but San Domenico can dominate. So today the village is known in Italy and worldwide for the famous procession of San Domenico with snakes, which just perpetuates the ancient rite.
Dating from the tenth century, in all probability the current village was built on the ruins of an ancient pre-Roman; near the town, in fact (Casale), were found the remains of villas in the first century BC and small bronzes of Hercules. Belonged to the barony of Pescina, in the eighteenth century was still owned by the family Sforza - Cabrera - Bodavilla.
Suggested Sights & Excursions :
- Castello dei Piccolomini
- Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie
- Santuario di S. Domenico Abate
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| The Piccolomini Tower |
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| Madonna delle Grazie Church |
Cocullo was certainly a prosperous town in the middle ages, as seen by the rather scant remains of its castle, tower (located near the 12th century Porta Ruggeri) and the old church of San Nicola di Bari.
The procession of the snakes is connected to S. Domenico but also contains traces of Abruzzo before the arrival of Christianity.
WHAT TO SEE
Of the religious buildings, especially important is the church of S. Maria delle Grazie, that dates back to the 14th century, with a splendid crowned facade, ceiling and portale.
Charming and deeply connected to a secular spirituality is the church of San Domenico that contains processional crosses of the Sulmona school but above all else the reliquary and the statue of the Saint that is used in the traditional ritual procession of the snakes.
Useful link you can find on our blog :
- The Serpari Rite
- Anversa degli Abruzzi
- Scanno
- Villalago
- Pescasseroli
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