An ancient Italic deity, the goddess Angitia was worshipped by the Marsi and other Osco-Umbrian peoples of Central Italy. The sacred wood known Lucus Angitiae, on the shores of the Fucino lake (Luco dei Marsi), was the epicentre of her cult. This statue, fashioned by local craftsmen in the Greek style, is one of the few surviving images of the deity.
She is shown seated on a throne, wrapped in the abundant folds of a cloak and adorned with a precious necklace and a decorated bracelet. The goddess was believed to possess magical and healing powers and a knowledge of natural poisons. She was associated with water and the underworld, and was regarded as having dominion over wild animals. Latin authors understood her name to derive from anguis (snake). The Marsians themselves were known as snake charmers, a tradition which survives in the Abruzzo to this day at the annual Festa dei Serpari.