ENTRY DESCRIPTION
An elderly woman dances with her granddaughter as her grandson plays the tambourine in the streets of Pagani (Italy), during the celebrations for "Madonna delle Galline" (the Virgin of the chickens), in April 2015.

According to the legend, an image of the Virgin was found after a crowd of chicken scratched around. The event was immediately seen as miraculous and thus spawned the cult of "Madonna delle Galline", in the XVI century. People from all over the region gather every year, from the Friday after Easter to Monday, to pay homage to the Virgin's statue during the procession that takes place in the town streets. Members of the brotherhood that organizes the procession collect the poultry donated by townsfolk as the parade progresses. The holiday is also cherished by people because it is also the occasion to perform traditional dances at sound of Tammorra (tambourine). The Tammuriata accompanies the whole celebration. Across the city, a number of niches (called toselli) are built in the courtyards, with images of the Virgin and tambourines, in which people eat and dance together. A tambourine with inscriptions is a sign that a Tosello is near.

The pictures depicts a tosello dedicated to the memory of Gioacchino Moscariello, "the voice of the ancient paganese traditions" passed away in the early 2000s.

AUTHOR
My name is Stefano Santos, I’m 21 years old and my dream has always been to become a photojournalist. I’ve been contributing to the online magazine Terza Pagina since its in inception in 2010, writing primarily about culture, theatre, arts and news about my city Naples. In these two last years I’ve been working steadily along my Law studies at University of Naples “Federico II” to obtain the press card issued by the Italian Journalist Association. Since my recent discovery of photojournalism, I’ve decided to direct my journalism training to this area, for its limitless potentials in telling the world in its infinite aspects.

back to gallery