L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 L'Italo-Americano Y es, we are a country of superstitious people. Cool Northerners will tell you it's Southerners to base their "dos and don'ts" on superstition, but believe me if I say we children of the Alps have nothing to envy to our siblings living in the shadow of Vesu- vius, when it comes to scara- manzia. We pretend not to belie- ve in it, but we do. So, I wasn't all that surprised when, about a week ago, I came across a little colorful booklet resting, almost forgotten, in the sitting room of one of my English students: Superstizioni della Liguria (Superstitions of Liguria), it said on the cover. Inside, a wealth of old tales that brought back childhood memo- ries and an immediate desire to do some research about the subject. Once home, I dig a cou- ple of volumes out of my own library and, with some help from the interweb, my thirst for know- ledge was satisfied. Funny how such mundane objects as mirrors and drinking glasses, or food like salt, oil, par- sley and even water, can tell us so much about Italy and its peo- ple, about our past and our heri- tage. Here's what I found out. See-through drinking glasses were a no-no and knives made awful presents Indeed, our elderly believed that seeing a person through a glass while drinking was a bad omen. The distorted image per- ceived by our eyes because of the glass' thickness and shape was thought to symbolize the potential breaking of the rela- tionship with the person sitting in front of us. Knives had a simi- larly negative connotation and they could not be gifted to friends nor family, as their bla- des could severe the relationship. However, there was a way around it: if the person receiving the knife gave a coin to the per- son giving it, then we no longer talked about a present, but a pur- chase, virtually breaking the chain of misfortune triggered by the knife's sharp, ominous blade. Mirrors were really creepy and being cautious with trian- gles was a duty That breaking a mirror means bad luck is pretty much acknowledged everywhere in the world. In Italy, seven years of misfortune would befall the poor soul clumsy enough to shatter one, but why? Simple: a broken mirror reflects one's image in pieces and hints at the possibility that their future could go into pieces, too. Still today, Italians notoriou- sly dislike walking under lad- ders, but this is fairly common among other nationalities, too. We, however, brought this superstition to a whole different level, extending its meaning to other situations, all related to… triangles and crosses. Using a ladder involves, of course, propping it against a wall. Said wall and ladder, along with the ground, create the shape of a triangle, symbol of the Holy Trinity: walking inside it — that is, under the ladder — was seen as disrespectful to the Trinity itself, hence the idea it brings misfortune. Always related to religion was the belief that crossing cutlery, shoes and other objects was a sign of disre- spect to he Cross and would bring bad luck. While this super- stition is no longer that common in the region I am from, Piedmont, it still is in certain areas of the South, like Naples. Be careful with water and stay away from the mountain ash Water is the most essential of all elements: we couldn't sur- vive without it. This rang even more true for our ancestors, who didn't have running water at home, and relied exclusively on that of wells, springs and rivers. Keeping it clean was crucial and it was important everyone, chil- dren included, was aware of it. So, kids were told that soiling fresh water would make the Virgin Mary unhappy and, the- refore, was an extremely bad thing to do. The same sense of reverence was extended to the sea in Liguria, where people customarily would cross them- selves before swimming or bathing in it. Kids were not allowed to enjoy the sea until after the 24th of June, when the Catholic Church celebrates Saint John the Baptist, who was belie- ved to universally bless all seas and oceans on that day. In what can only be defined a typical example of Italian drama, our forefathers also had a thing or two to say about the moun- tain ash. This tree is relatively rare in the country nowadays, but in the past it was more common; its durable and strong branches had made it the perfect tree to use to … hang criminals. Needless to say, the poor moun- tain ash became the epitome of bad luck, especially if you had the cheek to take a nap under- neath it. Mind yourself in that kit- chen: salt, olive oil and parsley Last but not certainly least, Italians of yore had a thing or two to be careful about also within the safest and coziest of their homes' rooms, the kitchen. Let's take salt, for instance: legend says it used to be a sym- bol of friendship, so much so it was customary, when having people for dinner, to place a small saucer filled with it in front of every guest. Once, the story continues, a careless diner knocked his saucer off, spilling salt all over the table. The host — who, if you ask me, must have had some anger manage- ment issues — felt his friendship had been disrespected by the gra- celess sod and beheaded him there and then. That's why spil- ling salt was considered, and still is a bit everywhere in the coun- try, at least among those who believe this sort of things, one of the worst signs of bad luck. But fear not, because there's a solu- tion: just take a pinch of it and throw it behind your shoulders to break the curse. Spilling oil was also conside- red an immensely negative omen and it is quite simple to see why. Olive oil was extremely impor- tant for families, as it has been at the heart of the way we eat for millennia. Wasting it could represent an incredible loss, also financially, so seeing its waste as a negative harbinger was natural. Another incredibly strange belief is that related to parsley: the lit- tle aromatic herb, so common in our gardens and on our tables, could only be sowed, because planting it would mean the dead of the head of the household. And if you ever wondered why parsley takes so long to grow, fear not, in Italy we had an answer for that, too: its little seeds had to travel to Hell thrice before being allowed to finally turn into a plant. Spilling salt and gifting knives: two things Italians don't do (Copyright: Dreamstime) Mir rors, knives, salt and olive oil: scaramanzia in the Italian home FRANCESCA BEZZONE LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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