of the procession in large receptacles or holes in the ground, feeding them with bran or semolina, and sometimes milk. On the eve of the festival bands of pilgrims began to arrive; each band of peasants, wearing the distinctive costume of their village or district, walked in procession, wallet on shoulder and rosary in hand, singing "Viva Maria," through the large open square where stands the little fourteenth-century church of S. Pamphilo, and then up the long, steep, and stony village street, close set with irregular old stone houses.
On arriving at the Sanctuary Church, which stands at the southern extremity of the village, and appears to have been cut from the solid rock, the pilgrims entered and passed up the church—many of them on their knees—some, I am told, on bare knees on the rough, rock floor. The shrine of S. Domenico, once Abbot of Foligno, stands to the right of the high altar. The statue of the saint appeared to be of wood, and is fairly life-like. It represents him in his monastic robe, with a reliquary, containing a mule's shoe which the Saint once dropped in Cocullo, on his breast. A small slit in front of the figure allows the faithful an opportunity of dropping in their money offerings, and a few silver hearts have been placed by others near the statue, while on the sides of the shrine are hung some long plaits of hair. After praying at this shrine each pilgrim reached up to touch the figure of the Saint, then kissed the hat or hand, or other object with which he had touched the saint or the relic. Then each in turn rang the Sanctuary bell with his teeth, thus ensuring freedom from the toothache.[1]
Next, each filled a handkerchief with "S. Domenico's Earth" from a heap in one of the recesses in the church. It looked as if it came out of a chalk-pit. It is supposed to be the sweepings of the sanctuary floor, and is taken home to be sprinkled on gardens and fields as a preventive against
- ↑ The Archpriest of Cocullo informed me that in an account of the miracles at this festival, written by a monk of Monte Cassino about 1640, mention is made of a tooth of S. Domenico preserved at Cocullo. I heard of no tooth now in existence, but was told that the mule-shoe was used to touch aching teeth. See Note just received from him, p. 216.
