Dancing, singing, smiles and lots of fun during the week

The official and ongoing celebrations of the Putignano Carnival begin after 17 January which is the feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot also known as Saint Anthony of Fire. The Putignanesi in this period remember him with the saying "Sant'Antun, masck'r i sun" and that is Sant’Antonio masks and sound. On January 17, the blessing of the animals and that of the native mozzarella also occurs in the town.

Carnival Thursdays are born from a very ancient tradition, not well documented, which had and has the purpose of giving all social classes, from the lowest to the most prominent, a day of the carnival period in which to exaggerate and trespassing on behaviors that are not in keeping with the status represented in normal daily life. A way of celebrating in the name of the ancient Latin proverb "Semel in anno, licet insanire", that is, once a year it is permissible to go crazy.

Depending on whether the carnival period is short or long, the following are celebrated in sequence:

 

- Thursday of "minsignor" that is of the monsignors

dedicated to the high offices of the churches of the town

 

- Thursday of "priv't '" that is of priests

dedicated to the spiritual guides of every parish community in the country

 

- Thursday of "mon’c’ "that is of the nuns

 

- Thursday of "cattèv" (bad) that is of widowers and widows.

The bad term that identifies those who have lost their wife or husband respectively, has nothing to do with the inner state or badness in general, but most likely the meaning has to do with the Latin term captivus which means prisoner . Prisoner of the loneliness that struck widowers who had to stay for years of thrifty fun. For the 4 years following the widowhood they had to self-confine themselves in the house and wear black clothes in respect of the deceased spouse. The widower or widow were also prisoners of having to carry on the family relying only on their own strength. This is with good reason to allow a full day to have fun and free yourself from the routine monotony of everyday life.

A melancholy Putignanese proverb linked to widows

"Quann a cattev vè accatt a carn, even a gucciareij stè achius!"

When a widow goes to buy meat she is so unfortunate that even the butcher shop is closed

 

- Thursday of the "pacc" that is crazy

That is the Thursday of the boys and of the "bachelors", those who in fact do not have the noose around the neck of the marriage bond.

 

- Thursday of "femm'n’ accasat "that is of married women

 

- Thursday of "C'r'not" that is cuckolds

 

Married men conclude the cycle of Carnival Thursdays with one of the most anticipated events, namely the cutting of the horns by the "Accademia delle Corna”