The rite of vattienti in Nocera Terinese

Nocera Terinese - Every Friday and Holy Saturday, before Easter, a very special ritual is held in Nocera Terinese. The streets of the village are traveled by those who define themselves as 'vattienti'. They are people dressed in black, with a crown on their heads, but their thighs remain bare. Each of them is accompanied by a child carrying a cross covered in red.

The vattiente prepares by beating his thighs to flow the blood and personally prepares the instrument of his scourging: a piece of cork in which 13 pieces of glass are stuck (Jesus and the 12 Apostles). The vattienti go into the street, following the statue of the Pietà which starts from the Capuchin convent. Every now and then they beat their thighs, causing blood to drip into the street. Then they stop in front of 3 churches and in front of the houses of relatives and friends, which they mark with their blood. The legs are washed on the street with wine, offered by those who live in the marked houses, and at the end with water and rosemary, which disinfects and stops the bleeding. The rite is very ancient and deeply felt by the inhabitants of Nocera Terinese; anyone can take part, even women, even if historically the victims are only men.