Superstitions: better safe than sorry

The Italian culture is inherently superstitious. I used to tease Mom when she would stop the car if she saw a black cat, or when she would warn me not to put hats on the bed (signifies death), thinking she was the only person who believed in these things. But then, I moved to Italy, and noticed that Italians really believe in these things.

Some of these superstitions have historical roots, others biblical. Regardless, they are rules to live by that help prevent and avoid acquiring bad luck and they've been passed down for generations. Italians are very careful to avoid something that could 'portare male' ('bring bad things'), so even if some of them feel silly... you never know. Better safe than sorry, right?

So sit back, relax, enjoy your coffee. You're in luck, because I'm about to tell you how to avoid bad luck forever.

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1."Fare le corna"

This is arguably the most famous Italian superstition. It is so famous, that Apple even made an emoji for it (probably not, that is definitely the 'rock on' symbol, but for Italy's sake we'll say that it's the 'corna' symbol --🤘🏼).

Fare le corna literally means make horns, or in other words make the horn shape with your hands. You make these horns by bending your middle and ring finger, and then your thumb folds over them, and you point the horns downwards and say 'Tiè'. Essentially it's the equivalent of knocking on wood. It wards off the evil eye and other potentially malicious things.

This is so engrained in the culture that you can notice people doing this hand gesture everywhere. I attended a friend's volleyball game and immediately noticed it: one of the players was pointing her corna behind her back downwards towards the floor as her teammate was serving the ball. The serve was good, they made a point. She cheered and resumed the same position for the next serve: feet apart, squatting down a bit, her right hand behind her back with her hand making the corna. They made a point again. Call her superstitious, but it was working.

I've also seen it in the hospital. I have been shadowing and following physicians on different services. One day, in clinic, we were visiting a patient. The doctor looked at all their scans and lab results and reassured the nervous patient that nothing had changed, and everything looked great. The patient was so nervous, and proceeded to ask a million questions, "Can I get worse? What if something happens?" The doctor again reassured them again, and at the end of his encouraging speech he added "Signora, facciamo le corna" (Ma'am, let's make horns). The patient laughed, very much relieved. She and the doctor made their horns, pointing them downwards towards the floor, together, and warded off the evil eye. It was actually a beautiful thing to see: scientifically speaking, the doctor had done his job, and the patient was doing well, but she had needed that extra reassurance -- even if it was a superstition -- to feel good about her situation.

Oftentimes individuals will actually wear a gold or red cornetto -- a singular horn -- around their neck to ward off evil. Some people will attach one to their car or house keys. If, for example, your cornetto breaks when you drop your house keys, you shouldn't try to fix it. It was meant to break. The fact that it broke means that it has done its job and has protected you from the evil eye. My nonno got me a gold cornetto when I was born. He wasn't risking his grandkids attracting any bad luck.

2. Spilling olive oil/ salt

I parked the car in the drive way and hopped up the 3 stairs into the garden at my uncle's home in Lariano. He came rushing out with a sponge saying, "Francè, I spilled the olive oil all over the stone!" There is a stone path all around the grass in the yard, and I looked down and there was a nice large stain right in front of the front door. I went into Chemist mode and said, "That's ok we can just get a strong acid or base and it'll clean that right up". That was 100% not his concern. He looked at me worried, and said "But it's bad luck".

"It's not even that big! I'll take care of it," I reassured him and got to cleaning up the stain. You can barely see it now, but nonetheless, he is still concerned.

Spilling olive oil or salt is maybe one of the worst crimes you can commit. This superstition has historical origins of course. Oil and salt were precious and valuable: they were used to barter for other goods and were necessary items for preserving foods. Their value has carried over to present day... well at least that of olive oil. The person who spills olive oil is cursed with bad luck for seven years...the equivalent sentence to that of breaking a mirror.

As for salt, if you're quick to act you can avoid the consequences. If you've spilled salt on the table, a quick pinch from that pile thrown over your shoulder should do the trick. My dorm room kitchen floor was sprinkled with salt during my first year of medical school. My roommate was very superstitious...

3. "Il sale non si passa" (Don't pass the salt)

I learned this superstition at a dinner with friends. We had set up a long table outside for the 15 of us. The table was covered with delicious summer foods: tomato salads, prosciutto with melon, mozzarella and basil. During dinner someone asked, 'Where's the salt?' The salt was sitting on the table next to me, so I said, 'Here it is', and picked it up and went to hand it to them. The whole table yelled, 'NO, don't PASS the salt! Porta male!' I froze and looked at everyone, and then slowly placed the salt back on the table. Everyone sat back down and the person who had asked me for the salt reached over my plate to grab it.

This superstition actually has religious origins. Apparently, Judas Iscariot spilled salt on the ground prior to betraying Jesus. Passing the salt shaker to someone increases the risk that it can fall (which is bad luck!) when exchanging hands. It's better to set the salt shaker closer to the person who asked for it, and then they can get it themselves.

4. Finally, the last superstitions are things that my friends insist we must avoid if we ever want to get married.

You shouldn't sit directly at the corner of a table. I don't know exactly why, but maybe it has to with the fact that you can't sit next to someone if you're sitting at the corner.

You should avoid sweeping over your feet with a broom -- you have to be especially careful if someone else is sweeping the floor and your feet are in the way.

If you say the same word at the same time as someone else, the response is not "jinx!". You have to touch your nose to undo the bad luck that would prevent you from getting hitched.

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So, there you have it, a small list of superstitions that I personally experience almost daily. Now you too can live an evil-spirit-free life. Don't forget to wear your cornetto. 🤘🏼