The Night of the Witches in San Giovanni in Marignano

Since 1988, La Notte delle Streghe (The Night of the Witches) has marked the beginning of summer on the Romagna Riviera.

Every year, this event – which takes place in San Giovanni in Marignano, a charming village in the lower Val Conca – is greeted with enthusiasm by the many visitors who choose it for the alchemy of the market, the handicrafts, the herbal essences and ointments, but also the magic of the scenery and the enchantment of the shows and entertainment that colour the alleys of the town centre.

It is a perfect opportunity to rediscover the rituals and folklore – in dialogue with the popular traditions of Romagna – of the Summer Solstice celebrations and to pay homage to the Feast of St. John.

For over thirty years, the event has been telling the story of the world of witches, goddesses and magical herbalists – and their spells, culminating in the traditional and evocative ‘Burning of the Witch’, which takes place every year at midnight on the last evening.

It is a genuine festival populated by Italian and international artists who, for five days, enliven the village with acrobatics, magic and many entertaining performances for young and old alike.

The origins of the Night of the Witches

Popular proverbs say that on the night of St. John ‘anything can happen and anything can be remedied’.

Folklore associates this time of year with rituals and ceremonies to promote health, well-being, engagements…but also to cause the evil eye! Many superstitions are therefore associated with this time of year, and precisely St. John’s Eve is traditionally associated with the Night of the Witches.

Tradition has it that, at this particular astral moment, witches gathered to cast their spells. These traditions, folklore, popular superstition and the ingenuity of some Marignanese residents gave rise to ‘La Notte delle Streghe’ (The Night of the Witches), one of the longest-running and most beloved events in Romagna.

The Night of the Witches: water

On the Night of St. John, water acquires magical and therapeutic powers. This is evidenced, for example, by the well-known ‘Acqua di San Giovanni’ (St. John’s Water), prepared with various herbs on this magical night and left outdoors, with powers that are truly miraculous.

This is why in dialect it is customary to say ‘La guaza ad San Zvan la guaress ogni malan’: the dew of St. John’s heals all ills.

The Night of the Witches: Artemisia

Legend has it that Artemisia, the good witch of Valconca, lived in San Giovanni in Marignano between 1700 and 1800.

She seems to have been very famous as a healer capable of recognising and dispelling the evil eye through the ‘oil ritual’, a ritual practised between Romagna and Montefeltro, but also as a skilled tarot reader. It is said that ‘on summer nights, many people turned to her powers to propitiate love, health and well-being’.

Artemisia is also one of the so-called “witch’s herbs” which, during the night of St. John, was charged with thaumaturgical and propitiatory powers.