The Walnut Tree of Benevento is one of Italy’s most enduring and unsettling legends, rooted in a place where history and myth have long overlapped. For centuries, a great walnut tree said to stand near the Sabato River was believed to be the gathering site of the Janare, the witches of Benevento.
According to folklore, these women would meet beneath the tree at night to perform rituals, dance, and cast spells. Whispered incantations were said to grant them flight, allowing them to travel unseen through the dark. The tree became a symbol of forbidden knowledge and fear, passed down through generations.
The legend likely has deeper historical origins. During the Lombard era, Benevento was an important political and religious center, and scholars suggest that pagan rituals once took place in the area. As Christianity spread, these practices were condemned and reimagined as acts of witchcraft, transforming sacred rites into sinister tales.
The Walnut Tree itself no longer exists, yet its presence survives in memory and tradition.
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