Friday 17th, day of heptacadeicaphobia. No, we are not talking about the famous film by Mario Soldati, “It was Friday the 17th”, starring Fernandel (the legendary Don Camillo) and Giulia Rubini, nor about Shriek – You have plans for Friday the 17th, a 2000 film that makes fun of some of the best known horror films. We are talking about today: the number 17 is in fact the most feared in Italy, especially when it is combined with the fifth day of the week. There is even a pathology, heptacaidecaphobia, which consists in the fear of 17: the prejudices that surround it are linked above all to popular and religious culture.
A LITTLE HISTORY – Already in ancient Greece the number 17 was hated by the followers of the philosopher Pythagoras, as it was positioned between 16 and 18, perfect in their representation of quadrilaterals 4?4 and 3?6. Even in the Old Testament the beginning of the universal flood is spoken of on the 17th of the second month of the year, while Friday is associated with the day of Jesus’ death. In Rome it was thought to be bad luck because the writing “VIXI” was common to identify it , which in Latin means “I lived”; therefore “I am dead”. Even in the Neapolitan grimace the 17th is “’A disgrazia”.
According to Christianity, Friday is the day of the crucifixion of Jesus and probably the fusion of these two ominous readings gave rise to heptacaidecaphobia, the irrational fear of Friday the 17th. There are those who avoid travelling, those who do not sign important contracts and those who rely on superstitious rites to ward off bad luck. An all-Italian superstition.
