Below is a list of the folklore figures who have animated Italian folk tales since
ancient Rome.
Traditional characters • In Italian folklore, the
Befana is an old woman who
delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on
Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to
Santa Claus or the
Three Magi Kings. A popular belief is that her name derives from the
Feast of
Epiphany (). •
Santa Lucia is a holy woman who delivers gifts to children of
Bergamo and province on 13 December, again like
Santa Claus. In reality, according to historians, the actual military leader of the
Lombard League in the famous military battle with
Frederick Barbarossa was
Guido da Landriano. • The
Mommotti in the
Sardinian tradition they represent an imaginary figure used to frighten children. Sometimes they are associated with the boogeyman or with an evil ogre and their job is to take away children who do not behave well. • The
Benandanti were linked to a pagan-shamanic peasant cult based on the fertility of the land widespread in Friuli around the 16th-17th century. These were small congregations that worked to protect villages and the crops from the evil intervention of witches. •
Segnature is a traditional Italian folk‑healing practice involving ritual gestures (literally “signs”) and sacred words to heal illness, remove curses such as the evil eye, protect individuals, and even influence natural forces like weather. Practitioners—known as Segnatori or Segnatrici—trace crosses or other symbolic marks on the body or objects while reciting secret prayers passed down through family or community lineages. Recent ethnographic research classifies Segnature as a localized form of Italian shamanism, blending pre‑Christian folk beliefs with Catholic ritual elements. •
Bombasìn is a monstrous character of the tradition of the
Polesine and the
Venetian Lagoon. Traditionally linked to the customs of Brusavecia and Carnival, the character has the appearance of an angry bull, and represents the most ferocious and wild side of human nature. Sometimes he is accompanied on parades by peasants who hold him in check with a chain, while the Bombasìn scares young and old in its path. Its name derives from cotton wool, a word that in turn derives from the Greek word for cotton, a material used to build the large black matel that wraps the Bombasìn. More recent tales connect him to the mythical character of King Hadrian and to the Gnomes of Polesine. • The
Strego is a character of the popular tradition of
Garfagnana. Unlike classic witches and sorcerers, dedicated to various exercises of witchcraft and aimed exclusively at procuring evil for people, the witch seems to have a more ambiguous attitude as it is usually disinterested in other human beings preferring to gather in groups to perform non-religious ceremonies. well identified. • The
Orcolat is a monstrous being that popular tradition indicates as the cause of the earthquakes in
Friuli. The Orcolat is a recurring figure especially in the tales of the popular tradition. • The
Maskinganna, literally "master of deceptions", was a legendary character of Sardinian folklore who enjoyed making fun of sleeping people making them awaken in terror. • The
Pettenedda is a mythical creature that belongs to the Sardinian tradition and that would live in wells. The legend was probably invented by mothers to scare children and keep them away from wells. • The
Giufà is referred to in some areas of the country. He is a "village fool", whose actions and words usually serve to provide a moral message. • The ''Sa Mama 'e su Sole'' ("the Mother of the Sun"), is a fantastic creature of the Sardinian tradition used to scare children who did not want to go to sleep on summer afternoons, when the sun was too strong. • The
Babau (more rarely
Babao,
Barabao or
Bobo) is in Italian folklore and other European regions, an imaginary monster with undefined characteristics that is traditionally invoked to scare children. • The
Orco (Ogre in Italian) is a fairy-tale character probably derived from Orcus of Roman mythology, an evil imaginary humanoid monster of enormous tonnage and with an irascible temperament, devouring human flesh, especially children.
Witches . Translation of the inscription: "In memory of the Federici di Sonico accused of heresy and of the victims of the burnings for witchcraft in the 16th century in
Val Camonica". • The
Cogas or
Bruxas, in Sardinian traditions, are witches with the appearance of an old woman, having the ability to assume any shape and size, both animal and vegetable or even of people; that's why they are dangerous. • The
Janare, in
Benevento popular belief, especially in the peasant one, are the witches of Benevento whose terrible misdeeds are told. • The
Majare are the witches of the popular culture of
Sicily. • The
Pantàsema is an ancient female figure linked to the agricultural rites of the pagan culture of
Central Italy, particularly present in the
Molise,
Lazio,
Abruzzo,
Umbria e
Marche territories. • The
witches of Valcamonica were persecuted between the 16th century in the
Valcamonica. • The
Borda belong to the culture of the
Emilia-Romagna and other areas of the
Po Valley in
Italy. It is a sort of witch that appears, blindfolded and horrible, both at night and on foggy days and kills anyone who has the misfortune to meet her. It is a
personification of the fear related to
swamps and
marshlands, and to ponds and canals, invoked by adults to scare children and keep them away from such potentially dangerous places. • The
Masca is an important figure in
Piedmontese folklore and popular belief, which attributes to her supernatural faculties handed down from mother to daughter or from grandmother to granddaughter. • The
Bàsura, a witch of
Ligurian folklore whose tradition is widespread above all in the West, is bad, according to folklores. According to the legend, she is the witch who lives in the
Toirano Caves (otherwise known as the
Grotte della Strega, "caves of witch"); the legend developed when, after the discovery of the caves, all the labyrinths were closed, and the wind made strange noises. Legend has it that the
Bàsura does not want anyone to enter its caves. • The
Giubiana is a witch of
Lombard and Piedmontese folklore, often thin, with very long legs and red stockings. It lives in the woods and thanks to its long legs, it never sets foot on the ground, but moves from tree to tree. So he observes all those who enter the woods and frightens them, especially the children. • The
Maciara is a person to whom magical powers are attributed by the popular culture of Southern Italy.
Fairies • The
Janas were the fairies of
Sardinian folklore. They lived in the so-called Domus de Janas, which were actually rock-cut tombs. According to other legends, they lived on top of the
nurhags and spent their time weaving with a gold loom. Some Domus de Janas can be visited in the coastal area of Villasimius near Riso Beach, not far from the marina. • The
Anguana or
Agana or
Longana is an aquatic nymph belonging to
Alpine mythology, also widespread in
Umbria, and which is also spoken of in the area of the
Marmore Falls, in which it would live and/or refresh itself daily. There is also talk of this fairy in
Abruzzo,
Tuscany (in the area of the Tuscan-Emilian
Apennines), in
Veneto and in
Emilia-Romagna. As an aquatic nymph it lives only in fresh waters, such as lakes, rivers, streams, waterfalls or streams. • The ''Bella 'mbriana'', in the popular belief of the
Neapolitan people, is the spirit of the house.
Sprites '' • The
Buffardello, a
sprite present in the popular tradition of the
province of Lucca and in particular of the
Garfagnana but also of the
Lunigiana in the
province of Massa-Carrara. • The
Gnefro is a sprite of the popular culture of the city of
Terni and the
Valnerina. • The
Muddittu is a sprite of the popular culture of
Sicily. • The
Mazzamurello or
Mazzamaurello is a sprite of the folkloric-fairytale tradition of the
Marche,
Lazio and
Abruzzo. • The
Laurieddu is a malignant sprite of the folkloric imaginary of
Salento. • The
Lenghelo is a goblin or sprite present in the popular tradition of the
Castelli Romani which has its roots in
ancient Rome. • The
Linchetto is a sprite present in the popular tradition of the
province of Lucca. • The
Mazapégul is a mischievous nocturnal
elf in the folklore of
Romagna, known for disrupting sleep and tormenting beautiful young girls. • The
Mazaròl is a sprite of the folkloric-fairytale tradition of
Dolomiti. • The
Monachicchio is a sprite present in the popular tradition of
Basilicata. • The
Monaciello is a legendary sprite from the ancient folklore of
Naples. Monaciello, which means "little
Monk" in
Neapolitan, is typically a benevolent man, short and stocky, dressed in a long monk's robe with a broad hood. • The
Squasc is a mythological being from the folklore of eastern
Lombardy. • The
Tummà is a sprite present in the popular tradition of
Apulia.
Ghosts , presumed home of the ghost of
Azzurina • The
Confinati or the
Anime Confinate are mythical figures widespread in the popular traditions of north-eastern
Lombardy, especially in the
Bergamo valleys,
Val Camonica and
Valtellina. • According to legend,
Azzurrina was the daughter of a certain Ugolinuccio di Montebello, lord of Montebello, in the modern
province of Rimini, in the mid-14th century. According to the folktale, she would have mysteriously disappeared. • The
Bianca di Collalto tells of a young maid who was walled up alive due to the jealousy of her mistress. His ghost appears to the members of the
Collalto family to announce joys or misfortunes. • The
Guria, is a spirit of the popular tradition of
Barletta that inhabits the houses, often identified as the "spirit of the house".
Demons •
Aamon is a Grand
Marquis of
Hell who governs 40 infernal legions, and the 7th spirit of the
Goetia. He is the demon of life and reproduction. According to the
Dictionnaire Infernal by
Collin de Plancy, he commands 40 legions of demons and carries the title of Prince. •
Su Ammuntadore or
Ammuntadori is a creature of
Sardinian mythology that would attack people in their sleep through nightmares. •
Maimone or
Mamuthone is a divinity of nature current in the mythology and culture of Sardinia. He was transformed, with the advent of Christianity, into a demon. •
Krampus is a horned,
anthropomorphic figure in Central and Eastern
Alpine folklore who, during the Christmas season, scares children who have misbehaved. Krampus acts as an anti–
Saint Nicholas, who, instead of giving gifts to good children, gives warnings and punishments to the bad children. Krampus belongs to the
Pre-Christian Alpine traditions. •
Incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in the birth of witches, demons, and deformed human offspring. Parallels exist in many cultures. Walter Stephens alleges in "Demon Lovers", some traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with an incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health, an impaired mental state, or even death. •
Succubus is a demon or
supernatural entity in
folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to
seduce men, usually through
sexual activity. According to
religious traditions, repeated sexual activity with a succubus can cause poor physical or mental health, even death. In modern representations, a succubus is often depicted as a beautiful seductress or
enchantress, rather than as demonic or frightening.
Animal creatures •
Badalisc is a
mythical creature of the
Val Camonica, in the
southern central Alps. • Thyrus, the dragon of
Terni, is one of the most famous dragons of Italian folklore, a river dragon that besieged Terni in the Middle Ages. One day, a young and brave knight of the noble House of Cittadini, tired of witnessing the death of his fellow citizens and the depopulation of Terni, faced the dragon and killed it. From that day, the town assumed the creature in its coat of arms, accompanied by a Latin inscription: "
Thyrus et amnis dederunt signa Teramnis" ("Thyrus and the river gave their insignia to Terni"), that stands under the banner of the town of Terni, honoring this legend. • The Ferocious Beast, an enormous animal similar to a wolf. It ate pets and children and terrorized
Milan during the 1790s and the Milanese organized a hunt against it. After months they killed the Ferocious Beast and displayed its body at the
University of Pavia; but it is no longer there and has been missing for decades. Informal sources claim it was stolen, destroyed during World War II, or removed specifically by German actions during that war. • The
Caladrius, according to
Roman mythology, is a snow-white bird that lives in the king's house. • The
Tarantasio is the name of a legendary dragon that terrorized the inhabitants of the ancient
Gerundo Lake (now dried up), in the area of
Lodi, in
Lombardy. This mythological animal was believed to devour children, destroy boats, and with its pestilential breath, soak up the air and cause a strange disease called yellow fever. • The
Catoblepas is a legendary creature described by
Pliny the Elder and
Claudius Aelianus. In ancient Greek and Roman mythology he was an "African quadruped, depicted with his heavy head always lowered to the ground". • The
Amphisbaena is a mythical snake with two heads, one at each extremity of the body, and eyes that shine like lamps. The amphesibena as a mythological and legendary creature has been cited by
Lucan,
Pliny the Elder, and
Dante Alighieri. • The
Erchitu is a
legendary creature of
Sardinian tradition. According to the ancient
legends of
Sardinia, a man who committed a serious fault would turn on
full moon nights into a white
ox with two large horns. • The
Marroca is a mythical animal which, according to peasant belief, lives essentially in the wetlands of the countryside of the
Valdichiana,
Siena,
Arezzo, and
Umbria. • The
Ozena is a legendary octopus described by Pliny the Elder and its name means "stinking octopus" due to its unpleasant smell. Most of the ozenas were small in size and remained at the bottom of the sea. In rare cases, some larger species attacked and ate humans. • The
Badalischio, it is said that this monster was born in the Gorga Nera, a small lake near the source of the Borbotto (
Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park,
Tuscany). According to legend, he is endowed with a deadly poison. • The
Caddos birdes were fantastic creatures of Sardininian folklore, which appeared in the form of small horses with green skins very rare and very difficult to spot. • The
Serpente regolo or
Regulus is a fantastic animal of the
Tuscan,
Umbrian,
Abruzzese and
Sabine traditions. It would be a large snake with a head "as big as that of a child", which lives in the scrublands, fields and ravines of the mountains. • The
Biddrina is a large aquatic snake which, according to legend, lives in the wetlands of the countryside of the
province of Caltanissetta. • The
Jaculus is a small mythical
serpent or
dragon. It can be shown with wings and sometimes has front legs. It is also sometimes known as the javelin snake. It was said that the jaculus hid in the trees and sprang out at its victims. The force of it launching itself at the victim led to the association with javelins.
Pliny described it as follows: "The jaculus darts from the branches of trees; and it is not only to our feet that the serpent is formidable, for these fly through the air even, just as though they were hurled from an engine."
Lucan also describes the attack of the jaculus in the
Pharsalia. • In the folklore of
Lombardy, more precisely of the provinces of
Bergamo and
Cremona, the
Gata Carogna is a monstrous animal which would infest the dark alleys of the cities. She looks like a large red cat, with shaggy fur and an angry look, who would attack children to steal their souls. • The
Gatto mammone is a fictional monster of popular Italian folklore, in the form of a huge terrifying-looking cat. Such a cat would have been dedicated to frightening the grazing herds and would have had demonic movements and expressions. His cry would be a cross between a roar and a meow. The monster would be so stealthy as to attack unsuspecting victims and tear them to pieces without leaving even the bones. • The
Scultone, in Sardinian popular belief, was a dragon-like creature that killed men and animals near
Baunei. • The
Bisso Galeto is a legendary creature of the
Veronese valleys. It has the body and head of a rooster, with a large red crest, wings full of spines and a snake's tail. Its normal size is quite small, making it similar to a small snake, but the Bisso Galeto can increase and decrease the length of its body at its will. • The
Tatzelwurm is a legendary creature of the
Alps, described as a lizard with only four or two short legs and a stubby tail. • The
Lonza a creature described in
Dante's Inferno. It represents the
vice of
lust or
envy. It is described in the Tuscan Bestiary as a hybrid between a Lion and a Lynx or Leopard.
Magic items • The
Scrixoxiu, in
Sardinian traditions, is a casket belonging to a spirit of a deceased family member. • The
Libro del comando is the name by which the black magic texts containing the description of the methods to know and distinguish benign and evil spirits were indicated, as well as the magic formulas to invoke their intervention, in order to obtain their help for means of "responses and revelations", the circulation of which was fought by authority. • The
Libro del Cinquecento or
Libru do cincucentu is a legendary book that would be kept in
Ficarra,
Sicily. Legend has it that it was a magic book that contained formulas that made it possible to overcome all problems.
Other tales '' by
William Hogarth '' on the walls of
Palazzo della Ragione, Milan ,
Tuscany, alleged
Tomb of Lars Porsena • An
egg of Columbus refers to a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact. The expression refers to an
apocryphal story, dating from at least the 16th century, in which it is said that
Christopher Columbus, having been told that finding a new trade route was inevitable and no great accomplishment, challenges his critics to make an
egg stand on its tip. After his challengers give up, Columbus does it himself by tapping the egg on the table to flatten its tip. The story is often alluded to when discussing
creativity. The term has also been used as the trade name of
a tangram puzzle and
several mechanical puzzles. It also shows that anything can be done by anyone with the right set of skills; however, not everyone knows how to do it. •
Cola Pesce, also known as
Pesce Cola (i.e., Nicholas Fish) is an Italian folktale about a
merman, mentioned in literature as early as the 12th century. Many variants and retellings have been recorded. The first known literary mention was by a 12th-century poet, Raimon Jordon of Provencal, who referred to a "Nichola de Bar" (Nicholas of Bari) who lived with the fishes. • The
scrofa semilanuta is an ancient emblem of the city of
Milan, Italy, dating back at least to the
Middle Ages — and, according to a local legend, to the very foundation of Milan. Several ancient sources (including
Sidonius Apollinaris,
Datius, and, more recently,
Andrea Alciato) have argued that the
scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan,
Mediolanum, and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars. • According to a popular Italian tradition, the Days of the Old Woman (or Lent Days) are the last three days of March, ie March 29, 30 and 31, in which it is believed that the cold of the recently finished winter often returns. : are considered the coldest days of spring. The Days of the Old Woman owe their name to an ancient popular legend: once, when March was only 28 days old, an old woman, now anticipating the warmth of spring, said: "March, now you can no longer harm me, because today it is already April and the Sun is already up! "; so it was that March, offended, asked for three more days in April and used it to bring the winter cold back to earth and make the old woman sick. • The
Rape of the Sabine Women, also known as the "Abduction of the Sabine Women" or the "Kidnapping of the Sabine Women", was an incident in
Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a
mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of painters and sculptors, particularly during the
Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras. The word "rape" (cognate with "rapto" in Portuguese and other Romance languages, meaning "kidnap") is the conventional translation of the
Latin word used in the ancient accounts of the incident. Modern scholars tend to interpret the word as "abduction" or "kidnapping" as opposed to a
sexual assault. •
Madonna Oriente is an Italian mythical figure, often mentioned in the trials held in cases of
witch-hunt. Connected to pagan cults, it has been placed side by side with the figures of
Diana,
Herodias,
Perchta. It could manifest itself in various forms, usually as a ghost or as a huntress, while at times it appeared as a beautiful girl who lived in the woods, dressed only in hair, with a look capable of bewitching people. • The
Tomb of Lars Porsena is a legendary ancient building in what is now central
Italy, tomb of the
Etruscan king
Lars Porsena. Allegedly built around 500 BCE at
Clusium (modern
Chiusi, in south-eastern
Tuscany), and was described as follows by the
Roman writer
Marcus Varro (116–27 BCE). In the 18th century Angelo Cortenovis proposed that the tomb of Lars Porsena was a machine for conducting lightning. •
Dina and Clarenza are two women connected in legend with the historical siege of
Messina by
Charles I of Anjou during the
Sicilian Vespers in August 1282. Dina and Clarenza, two Messinese women, were heroines who, in legend, opposed the assaults of the Angevin forces. The two women were standing guard on the wall. As soon as they saw the enemies, they did all they could to repel the attack. While Dina continually hurled rocks down on the enemy soldiers, Clarenza rang the bells in the
campanile of the
Duomo, from which she awakened the whole city. Thus the Messinese rushed to the defense of their city and repelled the attack. •
Heliodorus of Catania is a semi-legendary personage accused by his contemporaries of being a
necromancer practicing
witchcraft. • Pietro Bailardo or Pietro Baialardo is a legendary character accused by his contemporaries of being a magician and necromancer in direct relationship with the devil. • Maria Puteolana is a semi-legendary figure in the history of
Pozzuoli. The only reference to this figure is provided by
Francesco Petrarca who in 1341 with
Robert, King of Naples, would have visited Pozzuoli in order to meet the "very famous
virago Maria, later called Maria Puteolana". •
Pacciûgo and
Pacciûga are two figures remembered in two statues to which one of the oldest legends with a religious background in
Genoa is linked. • The Legend of San Pietro al Monte or the Legend of the White Boar of
Civate wants to explain the foundation of the church of the same name as an act of devotion of the Lombard King
Desiderius. •
Gammazita is a young girl, the protagonist of a
Catania legend linked to the history of the
Angevins of Sicily. Its name was also given to a site in the historic center of the Sicilian city, a natural cavity called the well of Gammazita. • The beast of
Cusago was a she-wolf who sowed panic during the summer of 1792 in the Cusago wood in the
Duchy of Milan. The animal, as it also happened in that period in similar cases in Lombardy, but also elsewhere, had become anthropophagous and killed and devoured several victims, always boys and girls. == Folk heroes ==