COCULLO, ITALY
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/GETTY
Worshippers carry a statue of Saint Domenico di Sora draped with live snakes on May 1, during an annual procession through the streets of Cocullo, a small village in southern Italy. The festival is said to be one of the oldest (and most unusual) in Europe and based on the belief that the patron saint removed snakes from farmers’ fields around the turn of the 11th century. Snake catchers gather nonvenomous snakes for the faithful to place atop the statue in hopes of gaining protection for field workers against snakebites.