- Cocullo
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Cocullo — Comune — Comune di Cocullo 
Map of Cocullo within the Province of L'Aquila
Location of Cocullo in Italy
CoculloCoordinates: 42°2′2″N 13°46′33″E / 42.03389°N 13.77583°ECoordinates: 42°2′2″N 13°46′33″E / 42.03389°N 13.77583°E Country Italy Region Abruzzo Province L'Aquila (AQ) Frazioni Casale Area - Total 31.72 km2 (12.2 sq mi) Elevation 897 m (2,943 ft) Population (2007)[1] - Total 285 - Density 9/km2 (23.3/sq mi) Demonym Cocullesi Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Postal code 67030 Dialing code 0864 Patron saint San Domenico abate Saint day First Thursday in May Website Official website Cocullo is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila, located in the Abruzzo region of Italy. As of 2007 its population was of 285.
Contents
Geography
The village is situated in the Peligna Valley, between the towns of Avezzano and Sulmona. It is linked with them by the A25 motorway and the Rome-Pescara railway line.
It conuts a single civil parish (frazione), named Casale[2] and borders with the municipalities of Anversa degli Abruzzi, Bugnara, Castel di Ieri, Castelvecchio Subequo, Goriano Sicoli, Ortona dei Marsi and Prezza.
History
The origins of Cocullo are closely related to the Ancient Roman town of Koukoulon, situated betwenn Cocullo village and Casale[3].
Snake Festival
Cocullo is known for his singular patron saint's holiday, named Festa dei Serpari, in which the patron saint's statue (Domenico di Sora) is transported in procession covered with lot of snakes (mainly four-lined, aesculapian, grass and green whip snakes). The reptiles themselves are transported in procession by local serpari[4], a sort of "snake breeders", and released in the surrounding woods at the end of the holiday[5][6]. The festival, set every first thursday in May, is a receptive event for Italian and foreigner tourists. In 2009 it was cancelled due to some structural damages occurred into the village after the L'Aquila earthquake [7]. This tradition, present also in coat of arms symbology[8], substituted the ancient Roman mythologic ritual of Angitia, a snake goddess worshipped by the Marsi.
Photogallery
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The main church of Our Lady of Graces (Santa Maria delle Grazie) in central Cocullo.
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The statue of San Domenico covered with four-lined snakes during the procession.
Notes and References
- ^ All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute (Istat)
- ^ (Italian) Casale webpage on municipal website
- ^ (Italian) History of Cocullo
- ^ The word is composed by the word serpe -or serpente-, Italian for snake
- ^ (Italian) Infos about the holiday on municipal website
- ^ Coucllo Snake Festival on www.lifeinabruzzo.com
- ^ Article on Sky News
- ^ Image of the coat of arms of Cocullo on it.wiki
External links
Media related to Cocullo at Wikimedia Commons- (Italian) Cocullo official website
- Videos and photos of the snake festival and procession in Cocullo
Categories:- Cities and towns in Abruzzo
- Communes of the Province of L'Aquila
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