''Pizzica'' () is a popular

Italian folk dance Italian folk dance has been an integral part of Italian culture for centuries. Dance has been a continuous thread in Italian life from Dante through the Renaissance, the advent of the tarantella in southern Italy, and the modern revivals of fol ...

, originally from the

Salento Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...

peninsula, in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, and later spreading throughout the rest of Apulia and the regions of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

and eastern

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

. It is part of the larger family of

tarantella Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...

Dancing the ''pizzica''

The traditional ''pizzica'' is a

couple dance Ballroom dancers performing the tango. file:dance-At-Bougival.jpg">upPartner dance, '' Pierre-Auguste_Renoir.html" ;"title="Dance at Bougival'' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir">Dance at Bougival'' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883 Partner dances are danc ...

. The couple need not necessarily involve two individuals of opposite sexes, and often two women can be seen dancing together. Nowadays it has become rare to see two men dancing an entire ''pizzica''. An exception with a ''pizzica'' between two men can still be found in the town of

Ostuni Ostuni (; ) is a city and ''comune'', located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the winter, but can swell to 200,000 inhabitants during summer, ...

, where one of the two men who dance jokingly pretends to be a woman. Another exception is where two men pretend to be engaged in a duel. The most important book about ''pizzica'' and

tarantism '' Lycosa tarantula'' carrying her offspring Tarantism ( ) is a form of hysteric behaviour originating in Southern Italy, popularly believed to result from the bite of the wolf spider '' Lycosa tarantula'' (distinct from the broad class of sp ...

is ''The Land of Remorse'', written by the Italian philosopher, anthropologist, and historian of religions Ernesto de Martino. There are several traditional ''pizzica'' groups, the oldest being Officina Zoé, Uccio Aloisi gruppu,

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS), formed by writer Rina Durante in 1975, is a traditional music ensemble from Salento, Italy. The seven piece band and dancer perform a contemporary style of Southern Italy's traditional Pizzica music and d ...

, and I Tamburellisti di Torrepaduli. Since 1998 there has been a summer Notte della Taranta ('Taranta Night'), consisting of a whole night where many famous musicians alternate their performances with ''pizzica'' orchestras. Some of them include

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

Franco Battiato Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs explore many themes (including, but not limited to, ph ...

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954) is an Italian singer and songwriter. Her most notable songs include "America" (1979), "Fotoromanza" (1984), "I maschi" (1987), "Meravigliosa creatura" (1995), "Sei nell'anima" (2006) and "Bello e impossibile ...

Raiz RAIZ () is an Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwe ...

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of "Caruso (song), Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enri ...

, and

Carmen Consoli Carmen Carla Consoli (; born 4 September 1974) is an Italian singer-songwriter. Described as 'a remarkable combination of rocker and intellectual', she has released 11 studio albums, one greatest hits, one soundtrack album, two live albums, fo ...

. The 11th Festival was held in Lecce in August 2008.

Notable musicians and bands

* Alessandra Belloni * Alla Bua * Anna Cinzia Villani *

Antonio Castrignanò Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

* Arakne Mediterranea *

* Mascarimirì * Ghetonìa * Officina Zoè * Enza Pagliara

Notable dancer

* ALI Alice Andrea Demarco

References

External links

Pizzica's videos

Pizzica's texts

La pizzica in the 1779
{{Authority control Italian folk dances