The pantomime “St. Dominick and the Wolf” is traditionally held on the first Sunday in May in Pretoro, a fine mountain center in the province of Chieti at 550 meters above sea level.
[Images 1 and 2] – The two men from Pretoro chosen to play the roles of the woodcutter and his wife in the pantomime “St Dominick and the Wolf” get dressed, assisted by an elderly lady, in a peasant’s home in the village center. The female role is played by a disguised man, since the mystery play did not allow women to play that part.
[Images 3 and 4] – In another house, meanwhile, a mother prepares her child, the first born in the village for that year, who will also play a role in the Sacred Performance. The child is placed in a traditional cradle and then carried to the home of the “woodcutter’s family”.
[Image 5] – The characters leave the home in a procession and walk through the village alleys to reach the performance site. [Image 6] – The holy picture representing St. Dominick, the woodcutter and his wife and the repentant wolf is carried to the site chosen for the performance and placed in a prominent position where everybody can see it, and in the center with respect to the scenes that will follow one another. The painting will be a sign of St. Dominick’s presence.
[Image 7] – The crowd of the faithful start to take their seats in the valley just outside the village where the sacred performance of “St. Dominick and the Wolf” is due to begin. [Image 8] – The pantomime starts. The woodcutter and family have breakfast outside their hut. The characters perform with wide gestures so as to tell the story. [Image 9] – The woodcutter says goodbye to his wife and starts towards the wood to cut timber.
[Image 10] – The wolf, played by an actor covered with an animal’s skin, gets out of the forest, takes the child and goes hiding into his den. [Image 11] – The family can do nothing but ask St. Dominick to help them and have the child back. They pray the Saint. [Image 12] – The saint fulfils their prayers, the wolf gives back the child: the miracle has taken place. The woodcutter’s family rejoice. The crowd around cheer.
[Image 13] – The characters of the Sacred Representation appear before the photographers. The crowd and the faithful have diligently “read” all the moments of the pantomime, drawing good omens from it, as it happened in a not too far away past, when nature had to be “freed and combed”, so as to be able to work without fear in the wood now safe thanks to the help of St. Dominick of the prejudice and superstitions always connected with the wolf, the “other”, in a word, the evil presence.
But the character that receives most attention is the child. The local people think he will grow under the protection of St. Dominick. And at the moment of writing, fifteen years after I witnessed and registered that event, I, too, wonder about the future of that child, who was unaware in the center of a timeless tradition exorcising evil and fear.
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