Tarantella

Tarantella.

Tarantella n [C] - mainly an Italian country partner dance, which features numerous twirls and spins. If the name tarantella sounds vaguely familiar, it’s not surprising. Tarantella is an alternate Italian form of the word tarantula, probably referring to the wolf spider in several regions of Italy. It is believed that the dance was performed to cure spider bites, or perhaps to imitate the frenzy produced by the bite, or danced when falling in love. (1)

Inn n [C] - a pub or a hotel especially on in the countryside, built in an old-fashioned style. The inn in the High Pyrenees referred to in the poem is the inn at Can franc, a small mountain village in the valley of the River Aragon, where Hilaire Belloc met Miranda Mackintosh in 1909. In 1929 he wrote the poem and gave it to her as a present. (2)