Case file · Folklore / legend
The Munaciello of Naples
Neapolitan tradition dates the 'little monk' to 1445, when the hunchbacked son of Caterinella Frezza, dressed by his mother in a monk's habit, was seen as a magic child. The Munaciello still steals, hides coins and visits homes.
1445 CE · 40.85, 14.26 · status: legend
The sceptical view
Folklorists connect him to the well-cleaners (pozzari) who could enter houses through old cisterns.