Whoever is bitten by the tarantula heals through music. The proverb encodes the ancient belief of tarantism — that the bite of the wolf spider could only be cured by frenetic dancing to a specific music called the tarantella. It speaks to the healing power of rhythm, community, and cathartic movement.
Tarantism was one of the strangest and most documented mass phenomena of medieval and early modern Europe, centered almost entirely in the Salento region of Puglia. From the 15th to the 17th century, thousands of people — mostly women — claimed to be bitten by the taranta spider and fell into fits of convulsive dancing that could last for days. The cure was the pizzica tarantata, a frenzied musical form played on the tambourine, violin, and accordion, which had to be played continuously until the 'victim' collapsed in exhausted relief. Scholars now believe tarantism was a cultural outlet for social and economic oppression, particularly among women who had no other sanctioned way to express grief or rage. The dance survived as the pizzica, now performed at the Notte della Taranta festival in Melpignano, one of Europe's largest folk music events.
Rooted in the tarantism tradition of the Salento, documented by the ethnomusicologist Ernesto de Martino in his landmark 1961 study 'La Terra del Rimorso'.
A musician explaining the origin of pizzica music
La pizzica non è solo un ballo — chi è morsu dalla taranta, cu la musica si sana. Era una cura vera.
The pizzica is not just a dance — whoever is bitten by the tarantula heals through music. It was a real cure.
A friend joking with another who is stressed
Hai bisogno di ballare, amico! Chi è morsu dalla taranta, cu la musica si sana — vieni alla festa stasera.
You need to dance, friend! Whoever is bitten by the tarantula heals through music — come to the party tonight.
An ethnomusicologist speaking at a conference
Il tarantismo ci insegna qualcosa di universale: chi è morsu dalla taranta, cu la musica si sana. La musica guarisce.
Tarantism teaches us something universal: whoever is bitten by the tarantula heals through music. Music heals.
A grandmother telling a story to her grandchildren
Nei tempi antichi, le donne ballavano per giorni e giorni. Chi è morsu dalla taranta, cu la musica si sana — così credevano.
In ancient times, the women danced for days and days. Whoever is bitten by the tarantula heals through music — so they believed.