THE BAND

​

A beautiful marriage of friendship and music, PizziCali is committed to sharing their deep love for old rhythms and traditions from different Southern regions of Italy. Its members perform and teach Italian music locally and nationally. PizziCali is the feeling that we all belong to Il Sud (the South), regardless of our roots.

​

Pizzica is a mix of ethnic Mediterranean sounds and dance also known as Taranta. It was invented by women who wanted to free themselves from the oppression of a strict and patriarchal culture at the beginning of the Middle Age. They created the myth of the tarantula, a poisonous spider whose bite made them insane, and crafted a remedy to it: a ritual made of a rhythmic music and dance able to put sick women in a catatonic state that liberates them from the “spider poison”. The Church tried to control this practice for years, but in vain.

​