The Witch trial of Nogaredo took place in 1646–1647 in

Nogaredo Nogaredo (''Nogarédo'' in local dialect) is a ''Communes of Trentino, comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italy, Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about southwest of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a po ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It attracted considerable attention and is one of the best documented cases of

witch trial A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...

s in Italy. It led to the death of between eight and ten people.

Maria Salvatori

On 26 October 1646, Maria Salvatori from Castelnovo, nicknamed "la Mercuria," was arrested and accused of witch craft. Salvatori had long been suspected of

sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...

. She was accused of not swallowing the

Host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

at her communions but instead preserving it for use in sorcery. She was also accused of having caused Marchioness Bevilacqua to miscarry by the use of spells. During

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

, she pointed out the widow Domenica Camelli, and Domenica's daughter, Lucia Caveden, as witches. Salvatori claimed that she had given a host to Lucia Caveden, who used it to cast the spell on Marchioness Bevilacqua. She named a certain Delaito Cavaleri was a

necromancer Necromancy () is the practice of magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events and discover hidden knowledge. ...

and a worshipper of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

The Trial

The witch trial formally opened on Saturday, 24 November 1646, at Nogaredo. Lucia Caveden pointed out Domenica Gratiadei, in whose house several objects were found which incriminated her. Domenica Gratiadei confessed under torture to have attended the witch sabbat, cast the evil eye on Cristofero Sparamani, renounced her baptism and defiled the Sacrament. Benvenuta, the daughter of Domenica Gratiadei, confessed that her mother had taken her to Satan, "as if in a dream", where she had had sexual intercourse with him. Domenica Gratiadei confessed to have officiated at the witch sabbats alongside a warlock named Santo Peterlino, where they all sang, danced and gave Satan the hosts from the communion. The witches, she claimed, all smeared themselves in an unguent made of "the Blessed Sacrament, the blood of certain small animals, Holy Water, the fat of dead babies" while chanting blasphemies, and then transformed themselves in to cats when they left for the Sabbath. The witch trial stretched out for several months, implicated more people and draw a great crowd. Domenica Camelli, Lucia Caveden, Domenica Gratiadei, Catterina Baroni, Zinevra Chemola, Isabella and Polonia Gratiadei, and Valentina Andrei were condemned to death. Maria Salvatori, and Maddalena Andrei, who was known as "la Filosofa", both died in prison. The condemned were beheaded and their bodies burned on 14 April 1647. It is suggested that Isabella and Polonia Gratiadei and Valentina Andrei managed to escape.

References

* http://www.executedtoday.com/category/why/witchcraft/ * http://www.stregamorella.it/storia_Romanazzi.htm

Literature

* The geography of witchcraft by Montague Summers * A. Romanazzi, La Dea Madre e il Culto Betilico, antiche conoscenze tra mito e Folklore, Levante editore, Bari 2003; * T. Dandolo, La Signora di Monza e le streghe del Tirolo, Milano 1855. * Abele De Blasio: Inciarmatori, maghi e streghe di Benevento {{DEFAULTSORT:Nogaredo witch trial Witch trials in Italy 1647 in law 1647 in Italy