The Last Moon of July (2026)

Beneath the light of the full moon, the *masciàre*—wise healers and herbalists—guarded ancient secrets whispered from one generation to the next. Using potent salves and mystical brews, they shed their human form to slip through the night as dogs, cats, or birds, journeying unseen to their sacred assemblies. Every circle gathered under the broad branches of a walnut tree, but none rivaled the grandeur of the one that stood in Benevento. When the Inquisition swept through, these towering witnesses were torn from the earth, and churches were raised upon their roots, desperate to bury the memories they cradled. Yet in Puglia, just beyond the town of Noci, a young walnut tree flourishes alongside one such church—a quiet, stubborn symbol of life persisting beside stone-built faith.