The name Moon Goddess originates from myth. The term Noctiluna (or Noctiluca) probably comes from “lux in nocte”, meaning “light in the night” and referring to the moon. The ancient Romans used this term to refer to the celebrations in honour of the Moon Goddess on 24 August. The Moon Goddess (also called “Luna Noctiluca”) is represented, like Selene, with a torch in her hand. She was a very ancient deity, and was in fact already worshipped by the Sabines and Etruscans. It was with the Romans, however, that she saw her greatest splendour and three temples were dedicated to her: one on the Palatine, one on the Capitoline Hill and another on the Aventine (founded by Servius Tullius). During the festivities, in which femininity was celebrated, fertility and abundance were demanded, so these shrines were lit with hundreds of torches and candles throughout the night.
Legend has it that the Romans, in order to propitiate the harvest, used to sprinkle buffalo milk over the fields on full moon nights in favour of the Moon Goddess.
Dea Luna (Moon Goddess) stands in Capaccio Paestum in what was once a cluster of houses scattered across a marshy area. On those cart roads passed the Bourbon king, with his retinue, or the gentlemen of cultured Europe who, with the so-called GranTour, travelled to Paestum to make contact with the vestiges of Greek civilisation. To these wealthy customers, indolent and macilent massari offered, as a delicacy, the “provatura” of buffalo cheese. This is what mozzarella was called in those days, and its production was not organised. That strange cheese, fresh and very tasty, was used as a test for the salting of the future cheese, but the buffalo milk, dense, fat and full of flavour, gave it a characteristic taste that immediately delighted those who tasted it. This fresh, stringy cheese was “mozzata” by hand and the name is derived from this operation.
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