Romancing Italy

We went to the Mercato della Badia, the annual festival at Bivongi in Reggio Calabria and stopped at one stall for a meal. We heard the strains of the traditional tarantella and before long the musicians were standing amongst us. The musical instrument that arrived first was the ciaramedda, native to the rural areas of Calabria (and parts of Sicily), and is usually paired with a tambourine. If you think it looks like an inflated animal, you are right. It is made from the skin of a goat, with the legs still in place and dangling merrily to the music.

Ciaramedda, bagpipes of rural southern Italy