Piazza Cavour by Still Eighteen (Official Video)

A haunted ski trip produced this Zeppelin-esque banger “Piazza Cavour”.

Still Eighteen's lead singer Joey explains how writing “Piazza Cavour” was an otherworldly experience.

“One early morning as I was waiting in the square, I felt an ominous energy, something I had rarely felt before. I sensed a struggle and horrific past in this ancient 3000-year-old part of the world, which had been visited by the likes of Pliny the Elder and other Roman aristocracy.
Bormio was now a beautiful bustling ski town high in the Italian Alps, yet I could still sense that it was once a sinister, medieval place full of atrocities, wars, and fear. As I gazed at the building next to me it sent shivers down my spine. The words inscribed into an ancient fresco were "Piazza Cavour". I felt the presence of witches, something I was all too familiar with in my dreams as a child. The chilling thoughts of boiling cauldrons filled with animal and human bones and flesh flooded my mind.

I quickly told Karen and Samantha, who were in the square with me, what I was feeling and that I knew I was being compelled to write a song about it. I spent the morning in and out of the churches and other historic buildings that were steeped in history in this surreal, supernatural city square known as Piazza Cavour.

Upon returning to my hotel, I immediately picked up my Stratocaster guitar and the chords and progressions for the song flowed effortlessly.

“Piazza Cavour” had written itself that afternoon.

That night, I scoured the internet for anything I could find about the history of Piazza Cavour and the town of Bormio. The next morning I urged Samantha, Karen and Chris (Samantha’s boyfriend) to go on a walk with me to find the Church of San Gallo.

In my research, I discovered that in Piazza Cavour witch trials had taken place throughout the 16th to 18th centuries. 43 women were taken to the Church of San Gallo to be hanged and burned to death for witchcraft.

During the walk, we encountered a river that ran adjacent to a very beautiful yet eerie-looking church in a meadow. We walked around looking for a name or some kind of plaque that would reveal its identity. We couldn’t find one so we continued our search and walked up a steep mountain path to a village named Premadio. My research revealed that Premadio was the village that was the closest to the Church of San Gallo. Unfortunately, it was getting late, our walk had turned into a 6-hour endeavor, and we needed to start heading back before dark.

I woke up early the next morning and left the hotel while Samantha, Karen and Chris slept. I was possessed by my search for the Church of San Gallo. This time I drove to Premadio and found a church in the town. Outside the church, I met a stranger and I asked him in my broken Italian if I was in the Church of San Gallo. He pointed down the mountain to the church that we had visited the day before and proclaimed its location. I was overwhelmed at the discovery. I had stood in the very place where the accused met their horrific fate.

I hurriedly drove back to the hotel to pick up the others. We then went back to the Church of San Gallo and walked about the “Fields of Justice” where the women were “hung in the gallows”.

I felt that these women had entrusted me with their unthinkable history and were urging me to tell their story.

Even as I write this, I am feeling a very emotional connection to their plight. My father was born in these very mountain ranges of the Italian Alps. The medieval history that my ancestors endured was in my very cells and was speaking to me. My endless dreams of witches as a child made me realize that this ancient time was a part of my history and now had become a part of me."
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/1g8wI4c...
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/album/1592954...

https://stilleighteen.com
  / stilleighteen  
  / stilleighteen  
  / still18band  

Band video footage: eyeflyfilms.com

“PIAZZA CAVOUR Lyrics”

Step back in time to a world satanic
Where dreaded bells and streets of blood filled the towns with panic
No witch’s brew could abate the tides
No prayers could ease their minds

Pre-chorus:
Run for your lives
Cause this is

Chorus:
War, war, war
Cause this is war, war, war, war

Verse:
Evil minds and cruel times
Lives full of fear and gloom
Lords and kings and priests and hunters ushered in the doom
Executions fraught with horror
They tried to spear the devil

Pre-chorus:
Chorus:

Bridge:
Hear the bells the devil’s calling
Horror echoes through the hillsides
Boiling cauldrons of innuendo
They will feed upon the witch’s teat
And now our bones lay silent in the basement
And we dance in the fields of justice
In the church of Saint Gallo
They thought they speared the devil

Pre-chorus:
Chorus: