Luras, Sardinia —

We checked into a lovely, isolated B&B the other night, Lonely Planet recommendation, very nice, my compliments. While chatting with the owner, she said that we might want to check out the Museo Etnografico Galluras in Luras.

I have to say that they have one of the most unusual exhibits there that we have stumbled across in a long, long time. I quote directly from the museum brochure:

THE WOMAN AT THE END

“Gallop through the night to bring death: this was the femina agabbadora, the consoler of the dying in Gallura. The woman would race through the country roads and along seaside paths like a shadow in the night to arrive at the house where someone was dying and give them a sharp tap on the head with the hammer to prevent them from suffering any further. Clothed in black, face covered, the femina agabbadora would enter through a side door which had been left open for her. She would always leave without asking for any recompense but was accompanied by the gratitude of the family of the deceased.”

Oooooooooooooookaaaaaaaaaaaaay. The last documented case of the femina agabbadora was in 1952 but my mind wanders to undocumented cases.

Back home, at the end of our country lane, we locked the door firmly and slept fitfully.