Tarantella

Tarantella is a group of traditional Southern Italian folk dances, widely associated with the regions of Apulia, Campania, Sicily, and Calabria. Performed by couples in a circle or line, the dance is marked by lively, insistent footwork, stamping, and energetic arm movements. The accompanying music is fast and bright, commonly in 6/8 time and sometimes in 3/8, featuring guitar, mandolin, tambourines, and accordion.

Name and origins: The word tarantella is believed to derive from tarantula, the spider whose bite was once thought to cause a fevered, trance-like state called tarantism. In the late medieval and early modern Mezzogiorno, communities practiced ritual dancing as a supposed cure for the bite; by the 18th century tarantella evolved into a popular social dance and musical form, spreading to other parts of Italy and beyond.

Regional forms: Variants include tarantella napolitana, tarantella siciliana, tarantella pugliese (pizzica), and tarantella calabrese. Pizzica, a form from the Salento peninsula, is often cited as the most characteristic tarantella tarantata. Distinctions lie in tempo, ornament, and costume, but the basic pattern remains a lively, merry sequence of steps.

Contemporary usage: Today tarantella remains a staple in traditional music ensembles, weddings, and folk festivals in southern Italy, and has influenced classical and popular music in Europe. The term tarantella is sometimes used for modern pieces that imitate or evoke the dance, and it has appeared in various cultural works.