Unveiling Superstition in Vieste

[Paul Ferguson]

"Concerning the use of copper coins, Elisabetta attributed an apotropaic symbolic value to the coin due to the cross that was engraved on it. Elisabetta aimed to use the cross symbol on the coins to counteract the magic performed on Giacomo. It cannot be ruled out that the choice of metal (i.e., copper) had an alchemical basis or was linked to the transmission of magical knowledge from the higher clergy to the lower clergy and then to the people."

Unveiling Superstition in Vieste: Popular Culture and Ecclesiastical Tribunals in the 18th-Century Kingdom of Naples 

Francesca Vera Romano

Full text.

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/10/1202