Workshop with Pizzica classes.

Pizzica in Salento with dinner.

Although we can find this type of dance in other regions of the south of Italy, such as Campania, Basilicata, Sicilia, Calabria, Molise and then through Taranto and Brindisi, the salentinian Pizzica  distinguishes itself for its lively sonority and for its connection to society and culture of a particular period.

In fact, Pizzica was spread before the Christian era as a religious and therapeutic phenomenon, since its hypnotic music and its frenetic rhythm had an exorcistic purpose and it was a cure for the so called “Tarantate”, women bitten by spiders who suffered from  hysterical movements, similar to convulsions.

This sort of convulsions could bring in some cases to the loss of consciousness.

The close relatives of the “tarantata” would bring her in squares or churches and the rhythm of Pizzica would awake the spider venom inside the veins of the woman, who would start dancing in the grip of a frenetic hysteria.

Modern studies proved that the symptoms showed by the tarantulate were to be attributed to manifestations of psychological and social discomforts, which were not rare among the female rural population of the south of Italy.

And therefore, even though it seems that the therapeutic purpose has almost entirely vanished, the passion and fame of this particular dance is growing strongly. This dance represents more and more the link between many cultures, as a dance that frees the spirit thanks to its liberating and frenetic moves.

This type of dance, Pizzica, is a fundamental part of the historical and social tradition of Salento and, although some versions of it have been lost, some of them remains alive in many villages in southern Salento.

Those are:

The “Pizzica Tarantata”

The “Pizzica De Core”

The “Pizzica Scherma”

We, the staff of “A Locanda Tù Marchese”, offer you PIZZICA PIZZICA WORKSHOPS, by our 0 km Trattoria, where the dance and drums teacher will teach you how to dance Pizzica from the first steps and will share with you the story of this ancient dance in great detail.

During the evening we will entertain you with popular songs, dancing together with the “maccaturi rissi”. In addition, you will be able to enjoy and taste the typical dishes of Salento’s tradition by our hypogeum or on our panoramic terrace.

Things to know

• Opening time from 18:00 to 23:00, at “A Locanda Tù Marchese”, Via Del Tufo 38, Matino
• Price (all-inclusive dinner + cooking class + musical evening) 40,00€.
• Reservation you can directly book at the best price by contacting us or by Airbnb experience.
• Nutritional preferences We can satisfy any type of the listed nutritional preferences on request. It is necessary to inform the staff before the experience if you’d like to enjoy this service: pescatarian, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, egg-free.
• Cancellation policy it is possible to cancel the reservation and obtain the full refund within 1 hour after the reservation.