In Sicilian mountain towns, playing and crafting zampogna, or bagpipes, was a part of life. There aren’t too many zampogna players left–just like there aren’t too many shepherds (the livelihood most closely tied to the mountains and zampogna) either. David Marker, an american of Italian heritage, has made it his mission to keep zampogna alive. His documentary film, “Zampogna: The Soul of Southern Italy,” is a beautiful tribute to those men still making and playing zampogna. David is photographed here playing the zampogna unique to Monreale, a town outside of Palermo.

Called “la zampogna di Monreale,” it is the largest zampogna David has come across in his field research. To learn more about zampogna and how its made and played, see my earlier post at http://wp.me/p3nbwO-3F.