Italian superstitions (le superstizioni italiane, the specific complex of irrational beliefs, folk magic practices, and propitious and apotropaic (evil-averting) rituals that the Italian cultural tradition maintains with the most specifically geographic variation of any comparable European folk belief system (the Italian superstition landscape is simultaneously the most regionally varied (the Sicilian malocchio (evil eye) ritual differs significantly from the Neapolitan version, which differs from the Calabrian, the Venetian, and the Piemontese versions) and the most historically continuous (the specific Italian folk beliefs trace the most specifically documented genealogy of pre-Christian (the Roman Janus, the Hecate, and the Fortuna cults), Christian (the specific saint veneration and the specific sacred amulet (il sacro scapolare)), and Islamic (the specific Arab influence on the southern Italian fortune-telling practice (the cartomante, the card reader whose specific tarots (i tarocchi) have the most specifically Islamic numeral system origin)) elements of any single European folk belief tradition)) is the most specifically Italian single cultural phenomenon and simultaneously the one whose practical implications for the Italy visitor (the specific behaviours that trigger the most negative single Italian social response) are the most consistently absent from the travel guide literature. The Italian superstitions guide provides the specific folk belief with its specific historical origin and its specific practical Italy travel implication.
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Italian Superstitions: The Specific Beliefs and Their Origins
17. Italy's Unlucky Number
The number 17 (il diciassette, the specific Italian unlucky number): the most specifically Italian single superstitious number belief and the one whose specific origin is the most concretely documented single Italian folk numerology (the specific Latin origin: the Roman numeral XVII when rearranged gives the specific anagram VIXI, the Latin past tense of the verb "vivere" (to live): VIXI = "I lived" = the specific Roman epitaph formula (the funerary inscription) whose specific use on the Roman tombstone (the lapide funeraria) as the most specific single Latin verb tense for the deceased (the "I lived", meaning "I am now dead") gives the Roman numeral 17 (XVII) its specific death association in the Italian cultural tradition): the most specifically historically grounded single superstition in the Italian folk belief system. The specific practical implications: the Italian airline (the ITA Airways, the former Alitalia) omits the Row 17 from the seat numbering on most aircraft (the most specifically documented single Italian commercial aviation superstition accommodation). The Italian residential building typically omits the 17th floor (or numbers it 16A or 18). And the Italian hotel frequently omits Room 17 (the most commonly omitted single Italian hotel room number). The visitor who is given a Room 17 in an Italian hotel has received the most specifically ironic single Italian accommodation experience.
The Malocchio. The Evil Eye
The Malocchio (the evil eye, the specific Italian folk belief in the specific malevolent gaze (lo sguardo maligno) of the person with the specific evil eye power (the "iettatore", the specific Italian term for the evil-eye carrier whose specific involuntary gaze (the iettatura, the specific casting of the evil eye by the iettatore) causes the specific harm (the jettatura, the specific negative effect on the person who receives the evil eye gaze)): the most specifically southern Italian single folk belief (the malocchio tradition is most intensely practiced in Naples, Sicily, and Calabria, the specific geographic distribution of the malocchio belief correlates with the specific Byzantine-Arab cultural influence on the medieval southern Italian folk culture (the specific Arabic "ayn" (eye) concept (the Arab evil eye belief (the ʿayn, the Arab evil eye) whose specific cultural transmission via the Arab Sicily (the Emirate of Sicily 831-1072 CE) and the Arab presence in the southern Italian ports (the Amalfi-Arab trade relationship of the 9th-10th century) is the most specifically documented single cultural vector of the malocchio belief in the Italian tradition)). The specific malocchio diagnostic ritual (the rito diagnostico del malocchio): the specific Sicilian and Neapolitan oil-on-water test (the olio nell'acqua, the diagnostic procedure in which the specific healer (the guaritore or the guaritrice, the female healer who is the most traditional single malocchio specialist) drops the specific olive oil on the specific bowl of water and reads the specific oil pattern (the forma dell'olio) to diagnose the presence of the malocchio and identify the specific iettatore).
The Cornicello and Other Amulets
The Cornicello (the "little horn", the specific red (rosso) twisted coral or plastic horn amulet (l'amuleto cornuto) that the most specifically Neapolitan and Calabrian Italian tradition uses as the most specifically effective single Italian evil-eye amulet (the anti-malocchio charm)): the most internationally recognised single Italian folk amulet and the one whose specific pre-Christian origin (the specific Italic bull-horn cult (the cornucopia, the specific Roman "horn of plenty" whose specific apotropaic (evil-averting) and prosperity-promoting symbolism (the horn-as-fertility-symbol (the specific animal horn whose specific hollow interior was the most commonly used single ancient vessel for the specific libation offering to the fertility deities)) is the most specifically pre-Christian single Italian folk magic origin) is the most specifically continuous single Italian material culture tradition: the cornicello has been worn in the specific Italic, Roman, Byzantine, and contemporary Italian cultural contexts for approximately 3,000 years (the most specifically continuous single wearable amulet tradition in the Italian cultural history). The specific cornicello buy authenticity: the authentic cornicello is coral (the corallo, the specific Mediterranean red coral whose specific collection (the pesca del corallo rosso (Corallium rubrum) in the specific Tyrrhenian and Sicilian Channel waters) is now legally restricted (the CITES Appendix I): the plastic or resin cornicello is the contemporary standard (and the legally unrestricted) version. The specific coral cornicello (the cornicello di corallo vero) at the Torre del Greco artisan shops (GPS: 40.7891°N, 14.3694°E, the most specifically authentic single Italian cornicello production town) is the most specifically traditional single Italian amulet buy).
Q&A: Italian Superstitions
Why can't you toast with water in Italy?
The specific Italian anti-water-toast superstition (la superstizione del brindisi con l'acqua, the specific Italian folk belief that toasting with water brings bad luck (porta sfortuna) or specifically death (porta la morte) to the person toasted): the most specifically documented single ancient origin of any Italian superstition (the specific Roman funerary rite (il rito funerario romano): the Roman dead were toasted with water (the specific libatio aquae, the water libation for the dead (the Roman funeral tradition of pouring water on the funeral pyre (the rogo) or the grave as the specific offering to the deceased shades (the Manes, the Roman ancestral spirits of the dead)), the specific association of the water toast with the Roman death ritual created the most specifically ancient single Italian toast superstition (the "toasting with water = toasting the dead" equivalence is the most specifically historically grounded single Italian social behaviour taboo)). The specific Italy travel implication: when attending any Italian social gathering (the aperitivo (pre-dinner drink with snacks), the dinner, the Capodanno), never toast with water, if no wine, prosecco, or beer is available, toast with the empty glass rather than the water glass: the empty glass is the most specifically socially acceptable single Italian water-toast alternative.
