Who are the “zampognari”?
Tradizioni di Natale e presepi viventi in Sicilia
B1 Italian listening practice · Standard Italian · Curated for intermediate learners
Zampognari are the Italian Christmas bagpipers, traditionally shepherds who come down from the mountains of Abruzzo, Calabria, Molise, and Sicily during Advent to play novene (nine-day Christmas songs) in town squares. They wear sheepskin vests, carry the zampogna (a goatskin bagpipe) and ciaramella (a wooden pipe), and travel in pairs. The tradition dates to at least the 18th century.
In this clip, a Sicilian narrator describes Christmas in Sicily, naming the zampognari alongside presepi viventi (“living nativity scenes”) that fill towns like Custonaci during the holidays. Italy keeps both traditions alive as serious cultural institutions.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Italian Advent and Christmas town-square content from southern Italy
- ▸In Italian RAI Christmas specials and Novena di Natale broadcasts
- ▸In Italian travel writing about Abruzzo, Molise, and Sicilian Christmas
- ▸In Italian folk music collections (Eugenio Bennato, Daniele Sepe)
- ▸In Italian living-nativity festivals (Custonaci, Matera, Greccio)