“Once upon a time they would surely have burned me at the stake: while doing good, they would have burned me as an evil witch.” Speaking is Antonietta, known as Chetta, 94, an expert in herbal medicine and therefore considered the last “witch” of Triora (Imperia), who today received the “keys” from the mayor Massimo Di Fazio and his deputy, Giovanni Nicosia. of the city”. The award was delivered as part of Strigòra, the witchcraft market exhibition, which animates the ancient medieval village of the upper Argentina Valley all day long, sadly known for the inquisition of witches, with stalls, guided tours, shows music and theater. During the morning, honorary citizenship was also awarded to the journalist and television presenter Osvaldo Bevilacqua, to whom we owe the fame of Antonietta, the “lady of herbs”.
“I started as a child, because my father was a farmer – Antonietta tells ANSA -. He was looking for good and bad grass, so he taught me how to use the various plants.
I learned in the mountains, because I got married in Arma di Taggia, but I came to live here in Triora, my husband’s hometown “.
Antonietta concludes: “My passion is to continue learning about herbs. Many ask me which plant is used for each disease and I try to recommend the most appropriate one. I have taught many young people to treat themselves with herbs”.
Satisfaction by the journalist Bevilacqua, who feels a “love with a capital A” for Triora and adds: “I met this country many years ago, intrigued by all this story that I followed not only around Italy, but also in the United States. Women who dealt with spontaneous ‘medicine’ with herbs were accused of witchcraft, in the worst cases burned at the stake, burned and, in other cases, which are no less, tortured, as was the case in Triora “.