Medieval Italy residents performed ritual dances to cure spider bites

Between the 11th and 17th century, residents of southern Italy experienced a phenomenon known as tarantism. This condition caused people to suffer from anxiety, melancholy, and uncontrollable physical movements, which locals believed resulted from the venom of a wolf spider.

In the Puglia region of Italy, specifically in the coastal city of Taranto, people believed that large wolf spiders carried toxic venom.

To treat the symptoms of a bite, victims performed the tarantella, a fast-paced dance intended to sweat out the poison. Musicians would surround the afflicted person and play rapid 6/8-tempo rhythms using violins, guitars, and tambourines. The dancer would then enter a trance, performing frantic movements such as hopping, swirling, and rolling on the ground until they reached exhaustion.

Modern science suggests that wolf spider bites are generally harmless to humans, as only about 100 of the world's 38,000 spider species possess venom that is detrimental to people. A Neapolitan doctor tested this theory in 1693 by allowing two wolf spiders to bite him, but he did not develop the dancing symptoms. Researchers now believe that extreme summer heat, dehydration, physical stress, and alcohol consumption likely caused the physical symptoms of tarantism rather than spider venom.

Historians often view tarantism as a form of mass hysteria, which primarily affected impoverished women. Anna Harsh, a professional dancer and founder of the Allegro Dance Company, suggests that the dance provided an outlet for women to express themselves and find attention in an oppressive society. Today, the tarantella has evolved from a medical ritual into a celebrated folk dance performed at weddings and festivals, such as the La Notte della Taranta festival in Puglia.