Pastoralists’ sonority

Bagpipes (zampogna) and flutes (ciaramella or piffera) are the best-known pastoralists’ musical instruments, and their construction requires the expertise of professional luthiers. Zampogna is a polyphonic instrument composed of wooden tubes of different size and thicknesses and a skin of goat or lamb placed under the arm; through a special technique for expelling the air, the skin swells and deflates producing a continuous sound. The bagpipe and flute are still played together at religious celebrations, especially at Christmas, during processions, at weddings and on other festive occasions. 

In Maranola (Aurunci), at least eight different botanical species are used for the construction of such instruments: apricot (Prunus armeniaca), plum (Prunus domestica), olive (Olea europaea), pear (Pyrus communis), sour cherry (Prunus cerasus), sweet cherry (Prunus savium), terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus) and golden chain (Laburnum anagyroides). According to elders, in villages such as Atina, Villa Latina and Monte San Biagio, some herd-owners initiated their transhumance at the sound of zampogna, so that the melody of this instrument merged with the sound of animals’ bells, thus producing a pleasant musical harmony.