Benevento - Italy's Witch City
- Mike Pesaturo
- Nov 1
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 8
Growing up in Massachusetts, we hear about the infamous Salem Witch Trials in elementary school. Salem whose nick name is "The Witch City" goes crazy at Halloween. The witch trials themselves happened in 1692. Salem is a popular spot at Halloween. It gets crowded and hard to access as 3 of my children live either in Salem or nearby.
This year on the second leg to our European Trip, my wife and I visited Benevento Italy. The reason is my family on the Pesaturo side has some roots in Benevento. We were in Rome and Naples and Benevento is in the hills south of Rome and east of Naples. The plan was to spend a day or so and we booked a hotel well in advance.
The image above is the Arch de Traiani, built between 114 and 117 AD to honor the Emperor Trajan. Any research I did before the trip talked about the arch being one of the oldest and most intact arch built by the Romans. We missed anything that talked about witches or Benevento having any association. Frankly, we surprised with Benevento's history and culture to do with the Romans, local art, a piazza-like shop and restaurant area and a church that was a gem of a time capsule with religious art and frescos.
A few days after returning home, I received an email from the Smithsonian, a magazine I subscribe to and who emails me with tidbits almost every day. It's title "How this Italian Town Came to be known as the "City of Witches". The subtitle reads "Centuries ago, it was said that Benevento was a gathering place for the occult. Today, its superstitions run deep." Per the article. the first known mention of Benevento being a witch gathering place was in 1428.
No doubt if you are American you have heard of the Salem Witch Trials. Salem is a big tourist draw all year, not just Halloween. Perhaps it makes sense for Salem and Benevento to create some king of sister city relationship. Either way, the coincidence to being in Benevento at the beginning of October, the article and the week of Halloween is well - a little spooky!!
Happy Halloween
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