La lotta alle superstizioni nel Regno di Napoli: la Basilicata del Cinquecento

The following article aims to analyze inedited documents in the Archives of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding cases of magical practices in Lucania and place them in the broader framework of the struggle against superstitions in provinces of the Kingdom of Naples. What emerges constantly from the sources examined is that the Viceroyalty, for a number of reasons, never succeeded in uprooting ‘superstitious’ practices. The bishops, often weak and unprepared, found themselves facing resistance from the local population against abandoning magical rites. The lower clergy, many of whom were indolent and lax in their duties, not only failed to enforce the new rules imposed by the Council of Trent but were often active participants in ‘superstitious’ practices. Added to this was the growing weight of the Neapolitan government in seeking to limit the secular power of the Church by embroiling the bishops in continuous jurisdictional conflicts