Every year people in Cocullo, a small medieval town in Italy's Abruzzo region, adorn a wooden statue of its patron saint with live snakes and parade it through the streets. The "serpari" festival, on 1 May, honours San Domenico di Sora for miraculously removing snakes from farmers' fields in the 11th Century. The festival originated from the ancient worship rites of Angitia, a Roman goddess of snakes worshipped by people in central Italy.
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