Witchcraft in Italy

thumb|A wooden puppet depicting the Befana In Italian folklore and folk customs, the Befana () is a witch-like old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi. The Befana is a widespread tradition among Italians and thus has many names. She is a part of both popular national culture and traditional folk culture and is akin to other figures who roam about sometime during the Twelve Days and reward the good, punish the bad, and receive offerings. The Befana is a mysterious, contradictory figure o

(1542–1908) institution of the Roman Curia

thumb|Terracotta statue believed to depict Angitia, in Marsica, Italy Angitia was a goddess among the Marsi, the Paeligni and other Oscan-Umbrian peoples of central Italy. She was associated in antiquity with snake-charmers who claimed her as their ancestor. Roman interpretations probably obscure her Marsian significance.

book by Charles Godfrey Leland

Italian philosopher (1469–1533)

Italian monk (ca 1570–1640)

Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians. In Leland's Gospel, Aradia is portrayed as a messiah who was sent to Earth in order to teach peasants how to use sorcery as an instrument to liberate themselves from powerful and oppressive social institutions and classes, specifically the Roman Catholic Church and upper class landhold

The '''''' () were members of an agrarian visionary tradition in the Friuli district of Northeastern Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries. The claimed to travel out of their bodies while asleep to struggle against malevolent sorcerers (; ) in order to ensure good crops for the season to come. Between 1575 and 1675, in the midst of the Early Modern witch trials, a number of were accused of being heretics or witches under the Roman Inquisition.

Croatian (Istrian) villager who was accused of being a vampire

Italian literary (1706-1761)

'''''' () is a neo-pagan tradition similar to Wicca, with Italian and Italian American origins. While most practitioners consider to be a distinct tradition from Wicca, some academics consider it to be a form of Wicca or an offshoot. Both have similar beliefs and practices. For example, honors a pantheon centered on a Moon Goddess and a Horned God, similar to Wiccan views of divinity.

Culinary ingredient

1608 manual by Francesco Maria Guazzo

religious figure

Supernatural female beings comparable to the fairies of English folklore.

Roman noble

Italian jurist

Medieval legend