The town of Pontoseveso, in Lombardia, had an issue. Prostitution was against God's laws, and as such should be banned. Yet, the town magistrates knew that banning it would just make it underground and non-taxable (and, besides, some would say, some of these magistrates were themselves clients). A compromise was reached whereby on the day of Sta Maria Maddalena (Mary Magdalen), on July 22, a prostitute drawn a random would be spanked in public, as atonement for her corporation.

The procedure had always followed roughly the same pattern. The lady of dishonorable repute would walk from the town hall to the public square wearing a dress of rough cloth and wooden shoes. She would climb on the platform where the pillori, used for petty criminals, was set. She would however not experience that device. Instead, she would first have to recitate a formula where she would accept the punishment for redeeming her sins and those of her colleagues and provide a teachable occasion to women who would be tempted to join her profession, then she would bend over a kind of bench. She would then undergo the punishment on the bare buttocks. Then, she would have to thank the executioner, get dressed, and march back to the town hall where she would be able to change back into her clothing and leave through a back door. The details however have changed over time.

In the first years of the practice, the prostitute would just have to bend over the bench. Her dress would be pulled up, her bottom bared, and she would receive the punishment. However, one year a woman, after receiving a couple strokes, raised and wanted to leave. She had to be wrestled down and held for the rest of her thrashing, which was actually harder because of her rebellion. The next year, the bench was set in the middle of a kind of frame equipped with iron rings and leather straps. The lady was strapped in position, bottom high, knees together, and the strap also held her dress up in place.

At some point, it was suggested that for more atonement, the prostitute should be naked, as in some descriptions of penitent Mary Madgalen. One can, with some high degree of plausibility, that some town magistrate took penitence as a pretext to satisfy his lewd impulses. The prostitute would walk in the rough cloth dress, pronounce the formula, then remove the dress, turn around so that the audience would see her sinner's body from all faces, and assume the position. After punishment, she would not be allowed to dress and would need to walk back naked to the town hall, displayed her red hindquarters.

The indignity did not stop here. At some point, it was thought that, for proper atonement, the place of sin should be exposed. The frame was modified so that the woman's legs would spread as her ankles were tied. Not only would her buttocks be visible to all, but also her pudendum. Again, one can validly question the motives of that decision. It sure made for a sight!

Talking about sight, let us now discuss the audience. Men and women of all ages would attend the ceremony. It was by no means a solemn occasion; there would be jeering, whistling, and cheering. The lewd disposition of many men… and some women would be satisfied by the view of the naked flesh. For some, it was also educational: some had their first clear view of a vulva on this occasion. The whipping, the moans and cries of discomfort and pain, pleased the sadism in many, whether that sadism was ordinarily apparent or dared express itself in the city-sponsored ceremony. Indeed, the Church would say that one should not rejoice in others' misfortune; but this was no misfortune, this was redeeming for sins! After witnessing the event, many townspeople would enjoy replaying the scene in their mind, their hands wandering down. It is even said that there would be a slight increase in births nine months after.

The instrument of punishment varied with time. Originally, the miscreant would be birched. This was quite harsh, and left marks that took time to heal. A town magistrate, and for this we have written record, arguing that the goal was to redeem the sin and not damage the sinner, changed the rules. What is not said is that this magistrate was a client of the ladies of little virtue and that he had a soft side for them. In any case, the birch was replaced by a short flogger of a kind that was used on children in many homes. The punishment would however last longer. The women would be beated until their bottom was bright red. Also, with the spread posture that was adopted at some point, sometimes the tip of the lashes would reach the “place of sin”.

Some poor women had to undergo the flogging during their periods. Until it was decided that the “place of sin” should be exposed, it was allowed for them to have a piece of cloth for absorbing blood. This was then denied. The closest spectators would then see the bloody state of affairs.

Depending on the woman, the executioner and the implement, reactions would differ. Some tried to stoically withstand the assault on their hindquarters. Some would start shouting from the start. Some would insult the executioner, the magistrates, and the population. Even the most stoic would eventually heave some moans of discomfort.

The choice of executioners varied. The first option had been to use an executioner ordinarily in charge of corporal punishment and torture during judicial proceedings. There was however a small scandal when it became apparent that they would solicit the women for “favours”, especially those performed using the mouth, in exchange for leniency. The audience had sometimes wondered about some relatively intact bottoms at the end of the punishment. It was thought that, given the nature of the sin, the punishment should better be inflicted by a woman. There was a pious society of woman in town, and it would have to designate a strong and virtuous woman. There was much variation, but it seems that some were enjoying the task. One lady managed to obtain this position for 13 years!

The tradition went on for about 270 years. It could have gone on if not for the following incident. During the thrashing, a woman claimed to have been spoken to by the Virgin Mary and said the Virgin would not order the prostitute to be flogged like an errant child, but to be stoned (this would contradict Jesus' own leniency when he said let him who is without sin cast the first stone; but most of the woman with visions was no theologician). There was a commotion. This was a time of religious turmoil, and the next year there was a political and religious quarrel about the ceremony. It was thought best not to hold it. The ceremony was, understandably, disliked by the prostitutes, and somehow they managed to avoid it getting revived after the interruption.