The 'tarantella del rimorso' is found in Puglia and throughout southern Italy. The tarantella's origin is connected with tarantism, a disease or a form of hysteria that appeared in Italy in the fourteenth century and was obscurely associated with the bite of the tarantula spider; victims were apparently cured by frenzied dancing of the tarantella. The words 'tarantula, tarantims and tarantella' all derive from the name of the town of Taranto. The dance from the area of Taranto, unlike the tarantella of Gargano, is of a mystical, rather than secular origin. It is characterized by obsessive rhythms played on the 'tamburello' (tambourine), while the tarantella-serenade of Gargano is usually accompanied on the 'chitarra battente' and castenets.
