Right off the bat I’ll say that religion isn’t really my cup of tea.

I know plenty of decent, sane people who would disagree, but I wonder what they would say about what happens in the medieval village of Guardia Sanframondi.

That’s in the southern region of Campania, Italy, by the way, and features hundreds of locals who beat themselves until they bleed.

Let’s get the basics sorted with the help of the Telegraph:

The organisers…have imposed a new rule for the event this year – strictly no selfies…

The event is held every seven years and organisers say the problem of selfies was not an issue last time because very few people had smart phones.

“There should be no selfies with the ‘battenti[ people who scour themselves with corks containing metal spikes]. It’s better for people to concentrate on the religious aspect and to experience a wonderful day of spirituality, which is a rare thing these days,” said the mayor of the village, Floriano Panza.

Yup, the mayor had to issue a statement banning selfies. That’s where we are at.

Anyway, back to what the festival is all about:

The religious festival, known as the Riti Settennali di Penitenza (Rites of Penance every Seven Years), commemorates the discovery of a Madonna and Child statue in a field hundreds of years ago…

They strike their chests with an object known as a “spugna” – that normally means sponge in Italian but in this case it is a disc of cork inlaid with needles.

They will be joined by a smaller number of “flagellanti” – similarly-dressed men who flog themselves with metal scourges.

Attendants pour white wine over the penitents to disinfect and clean their wounds.

Sounds like something I might skip but hey, to each their own.

A few more pics:

By the way, the hoods are worn because the “flagellanti” and the “battenti” are supposed to remain anonymous, and not even their families are meant to know they are taking part in the procession.

Just another reason not to snap those selfies, y’all.

If it’s alright with you I’ll stick to spending my holidays off in the African bush somewhere.

[sources:telegraph&ansa]