THE TABLE OF THE DEAD – PROCESSION OF THE DEAD FRIARS IX EDITION

WEDNESDAY 1
NOVEMBER 2023 • h. 19.00

BORGO CASE TROIANO di SPOLTORE – MOTORIZATION PARKING

MEDIEVAL DUEL, MAZZAMURILLE, WHEAT AND NOUGAT OF THE DEAD

Duel with swords between the knights of 1200 and Sister Death, the sound of the bagpipe, the mazzamurille mischievous spirit that lives in the beams of the houses, the divination of water, the bridge of lost souls and the Procession of the Dead Friars, traditional food, the nougat of the dead prepared by the world pastry champion, Maestro Federico Anzellotti. This and much more in the narrative journey introduced by the historian Licio Di Biase which on Wednesday 1st November, from 7pm, will begin for the ninth consecutive year in Borgo Case Troiano di Spoltore with meeting point at the Civil Motorization car park.

With the sole light of torches and candles, the history of the places will be told, from Roman times, of which a burial was found, to the quartering of the Spanish army during 1600, up to the present day with the table set in honor of loved ones who have passed away.

The table set on the night between November 1st and 2nd with the best peasant dishes: rigorously handmade egg pasta, baked chicken with potatoes, wine and dessert, to welcome and make the passing of the souls of their dead who on that night, tradition says, return to visit their families and loved ones.

On November 1st at 7.00 pm sharp in front of the headquarters of the Civil Motorization, with the 'Tale of Places', the ninth edition of La Tavola dei Morti - The procession of the dead Friars will begin, starting from the Pozzo dei Guerrieri, that is that square-shaped well which, according to the elders, is buried, it must be said, under a few meters of earth, at the base of an oak tree, in what is now a roundabout in front of the motorization entrance. A well used for centuries for the refreshment of the soldiers and horses of the Spanish viceral army that dominated the Kingdom of Naples, also used during brigandage because it was located close to the access 'ramp' towards Pescara, hence the name 'Villa Raspa'.

With only the light of candles we will go to Borgo Case Troiano, crossing the fields illuminated by torches and candles. A journey characterized by a story about events and characters that characterized the village itself. Along the village road, at the 'Vutate de lo lope' where local women avoided sending their children alone because a ferocious wolf kidnapped their first-born males, you will come across the Procession of Frati Morti who will accompany those present to the garden where we will meet the mischievous spirit of 'Lu' Mazzamurille', the 'tomb of the Knight' with a real duel in armor and thirteenth-century swords between knights and Sister Death.< /p>

The Altar for the Suffrage of Pezzantelle souls has been set up, as always, whose origin and cult will be narrated, going back to the divinities of Hecate and Persephone. Outside each house there will be symbols, such as the bag of wheat, the overturned broom, the basin, the stick, and, each time, the reasons for those presences which have their roots in the Abruzzo tradition will be discovered.

The table will be set according to local customs, with ham and cheese, pasta with sauce, chicken and potatoes, water, wine, bread, coffee, biscuits, sweets and fruit. Foods that cannot be consumed by the living because they are intended for the souls who will spend the night in that kitchen and who will be able to find again, as tradition passes down, the dishes they loved so much in life. In fact, those foods will only be consumed the following day, destined for the poor and needy who were begging outside the churches.

During the evening it will be possible to pay homage to the Church of the Holy Trinity, located in the village, and which will be open regularly: the entrance will be characterized by the presence of an 'Abruzzo Pulcinella', as a trait d'union between the world of the living and that of the dead, and, according to ancient beliefs, the first child who enters, by ringing the bell, will free a soul from Purgatory.

At the end of the event, all participants will be offered free of chargethe 'ritual food', also strictly respectful of tradition consisting of 'the wheat of the dead', i.e. boiled buckwheat with walnuts, pomegranate and cooked must, pumpkin and potatoes and red wine and the Torrone dei morti prepared by the master pastry chef, world champion Federico Anzellotti, an opportunity to rediscover a tradition widespread throughout the south up to 60s of the last century and which risks disappearing.

The event will be repeated on November 11th in the historic center of Naples, for the eighth consecutive time, as the main opening event of the Neapolitan Long Christmas celebrations with the procession of the dead friars that will cross Spaccanapoli to the basilica of San Domenico Maggiore and then ends in the main cloister of the State Archives.

The event is completely free and is organized in collaboration with the associations Gualdana dell'Orso, Camminando Insieme, Beato Marco d'Aviano, Emozioni Italiane Pastry Chef di Federico Anzellotti, Spray Records, Asi, Municipality of Spoltore, Municipality of Pescara, Abruzzo Region.

Information and reservations at 331/6796820