The Benandanti: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults between 16th and 17th centuries in Italy

A trial for heresy of two peasants reveals a pagan-shamanic  peasant cult based on the fertility of the land widespread in Friuli,  northern Italy, around the 16th-17th centuries. The Benandanti was an agrarian cult with shamanic characteristics that  gradually transformed under the pressure of the inquisitors to assume  the features of traditional witchcraft.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://weirditaly.com/2022/01/10/the-benandanti-witchcraft-and-agrarian-cults-between-16th-and-17th-centuries-in-italy/