A central figure in the Castelnuovo al Volturno ritual, the Deer embodies the primordial force of nature and the wild energy that escapes human control. Covered in goat skins, with a blackened face and hands, he wears a headdress with real deer antlers and carries bells that resonate in an eerie way, making his stage presence powerful and mysterious.

During the performance, the Deer bursts into the crowd with frenetic movements, bellows and unpredictable gestures, embodying a destructive and uncontrollable force. It is a symbol of transformation and regeneration, but also of death and rebirth: a creature on the border between human and animal, between the visible and spiritual worlds.

An archetype rooted in pagan traditions, the Deer represents the link between man and the ancestral forces of nature. Its figure invites us to reflect on the instinctive, the mysterious and the eternal cyclical nature of life.

Companion of the Deer, the Doe is a central and symbolic figure of the rite of Castelnuovo al Volturno. Together they represent the cyclical balance of nature: life, death and rebirth intertwined in a shared destiny.

During the performance, the Doe participates in the drama of capture and death, a mirror of the primitive fury of the Deer. But she also reflects the silent wisdom of the natural cycle: her symbolic death, followed by resurrection at the hands of the Hunter, is a metaphor for fertility, regeneration and continuity.

More than a simple supporting figure, the Doe embodies the feminine essence of nature: generator and destroyer, she welcomes the mystery of the beginning and the end, becoming a profound image of a cosmic balance that is renewed every year through the rite.

An emblematic figure of the Castelnuovo al Volturno ritual, Martino represents humanity confronting the wild forces of nature.
Inspired by the figure of Pulcinella from Molise, he dresses in white, with a conical headdress adorned with colored ribbons and the traditional cioce, symbols of his bond with the earth.

Made up with red cheeks, Martino holds a rope and a stick: symbolic tools with which he faces the Deer and the Hind, incarnations of chaos and primitive strength. His function is to restore balance, re-establishing harmony between man and natural forces.

In the ritual cycle, Martino is the figure that represents the passage, the transformation, and the return to harmony. His presence reminds us that every chaos needs a guide, every wild force a balance, and that man is an integral part of this eternal confrontation between nature and civilization.

In the rite of Castelnuovo al Volturno, the Hunter is the guardian of the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. Armed with a rifle, he kills the Deer and the Hind at the culminating moment of the performance, making a sacrifice necessary for the renewal of nature.

But his function is not only destructive: through a symbolic gesture, blowing into the animals' ears, he restores life, re-establishing balance and opening the way to rebirth. This double power - killing and resurrecting - makes the Hunter a magical and transformative figure, capable of breaking the cycle of violence and leading it back to hope.

Symbol of mediation between the human and the supernatural, between chaos and harmony, the Hunter embodies the principle of regeneration: nature, to renew itself, must first go through death. His breath is the vital breath that closes the rite and prepares it for its return, every year, as a promise of new life.

The Maone is the dark and mysterious figure of the rite of Castelnuovo al Volturno, a symbol of the primordial and evil forces that inhabit the collective unconscious and the most ancient ritual cycles. Covered in goat skins and with a disturbing mask, he embodies wild and uncontrollable nature, challenging every human order.

With his stick he guides the macabre dance of the Janare, representing the eruption of chaos and uncertainty. But his role is not only scenic: the Maone is an archetype of the shadow, a ritual presence necessary for purification and transformation.

In his rhythmic dance and in his disturbing presence, the awareness is manifested that only by facing the dark forces can one achieve rebirth. The Maone is the hidden face of nature, the essence of the unknown that returns every year to remind us that there is no light without shadow.

The Janare are the enigmatic and feared witches of the Castelnuovo al Volturno ritual, incarnations of the dark, mysterious and primordial forces of nature. Dressed in black, with disturbing masks and long waving hair, they enter the scene running and screaming, led by the Maone, in an explosion of chaos that precedes purification.

Their dance around the bonfire - the symbolic heart of the ritual - is an act of liberation and transformation. Accompanied by the ancestral sounds of the percussions played by the Werewolves, the Janare represent the irrational part of man, the dark side that must manifest itself to be exorcised and integrated.

Not only bearers of terror, but powerful ritual figures, the Janare are the guardians of the border between light and darkness, between the world of men and that of spirits. Their presence reminds us that order can be reborn only after having crossed the shadow.

The commoner in the pantomime of Castelnuovo al Volturno is a central symbolic figure, the incarnation of rural daily life and the bond with the land. Initially immersed in the serenity of peasant life, her peace is abruptly interrupted by the irruption of the Deer, a primitive and destructive force that upsets the order of the community.

Her confrontation with the beast - culminating in a provocative gesture, the offering of food - represents the human attempt to understand and tame wild nature. But the Deer's angry refusal underlines the impossibility of domesticating its instinctive and irrational force.

From a symbolic and anthropological point of view, the commoner is an active witness to the conflict between civilization and nature, between stability and chaos. Although fragile in the face of the Deer's fury, she is also a sign of resilience, challenge and awareness of human limits. She is not just a stage character, but an emblem of the profound bond between man, his community and the forces that have always put him to the test.