amulet
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
amulet: A charm, usually worn around the neck, used to bring luck or ward off evil. It is known that the wearing of amulets was common in ancient Egypt and Babylon, and was practiced in prehistory. The ancient Greeks wore a protective charm called a phylacterion, and may have brought the practice to southern Italy and Sicily. The Etruscans, however, commonly wore wax good luck charms, shaped in the form of phalli. This particular charm was adopted by the Romans and spread through Italy and the rest of the Roman world.
The early Christians were also known to have worn amulets although several of their leaders frowned on the practice as being associated with magic and paganism. Once Christian had taken control of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century, the lucrative making and selling of amulets by the members of the clergy was forbidden on pain of being stripped of their holy orders. Despite this and other restrictions, amulets remained so popular that a papal decree was issued in AD 721 forbidding them altogether. It had little effect, however, and the practice continued.
Among the peasantry, amulets were shaped like pigs, mice, bulls, or crosses made from oak twigs. In 17th century Sicily, tiny silver relic lockets were worn as amulets. These often included an official seal of a high church official who authorized it. Wearing amulets remains very popular among modern Italians and Sicilians. These “good-luck charms” are fashioned in a number of varieties, including little bunches of iron charms, a key, a phallus, a siren, and a hand with a finger outstretched.