© Saba Laudanna

Originally they were dancing rituals to cure those people (mainly women) that were said to have been "bitten" by the tarantula. For a long time those rituals were practised discretely within the family circle or amongst neighbours, kept quiet behind closed doors.

Today those rituals are keenly observed not only by scientist but also artists, musicians, DJs and organizers. Crowds of young and not so young people in Italy are searching for a state of trance and the promised "salvation" they hope the hectic dance of the tarantella and the pizzica will bring them.