Echi nel Vento (San Biagio Saracinisco stop)

A festival dedicated to traditional folk wind instruments

Echi nel Vento is an international festival dedicated to air-reservoir wind instruments: zampogne, ciaramelle, bagpipes, small pipes, and sordelline—the sounds that have accompanied the pastoral life of the Apennines for centuries. The event is itinerant, visiting various villages in the Valle di Comino, in the province of Frosinone (southern Lazio), every winter: Atina, Villa Latina, Picinisco, and, of course, San Biagio Saracinisco. The project is curated by the Calamus social promotion association of Picinisco, with the support of the Lazio Region, the XIV Comunità Montana Valle di Comino, and the Banca Popolare del Cassinate, and in collaboration with the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.

The San Biagio Saracinisco stop

The Municipality of San Biagio Saracinisco, a mountain village at over 800 meters above sea level on the border with Molise, hosts one of the most anticipated stages of the festival every year. The event usually takes place on the second Sunday of December in the church of San Biagio Martire, with a morning that weaves together music, research, and conviviality: instrument presentations, meetings with scholars and ethnomusicologists, the presentation of the Echi nel Vento Award, and a final concert. Afterwards, in Piazza Iaconelli, the community offers polenta alla San Biagese, the village's signature dish, turning the day into a true local celebration.

Zampogna and ciaramella, a living heritage of the Valle di Comino

The Valle di Comino is one of the historical capitals of the Italian zampogna: it was from these villages that the zampognari (bagpipers) would set out during the Christmas season to travel toward Rome and Naples to play the novenas. Echi nel Vento was born precisely to preserve and revitalize this heritage, fostering a dialogue between local players and musicians and instrument makers from all over Europe. Throughout its various editions, the festival has featured folk music concerts, meetings on instrument construction and tuning, workshops, and moments dedicated to the giant zampogne of the Valle di Comino, an authentic organological rarity of the territory.

The 2025 edition: the tenth anniversary of the Comino winter

In the winter of 2025-2026, the festival reached the milestone of its tenth edition, which opened on December 6, 2025, in Atina with a concert of Yiddish and Sephardic songs. The San Biagio stop on Sunday, December 7, 2025, featured a session on bagpipes and small pipes led by Massimo Belli, a meeting on the construction and marketing of zampogne and bagpipes with ethnomusicologist Maurizio Agamennone (University of Florence) and instrument maker Marco Tomassi, the 2025 Echi nel Vento Award, and concerts by Marco Tomassi (on the sordellina and giant zampogna) and the group I Suoni degli Aurunci.

Why attend

• Listen to zampogne, ciaramelle, and bagpipes played by world-class performers in a mountain church.
• Discover the giant zampogne of the Valle di Comino and the work of local instrument makers.
• Taste the polenta alla San Biagese offered in Piazza Iaconelli after the concerts.
• Visit one of the highest and most scenic villages in the Ciociaria region, at the gates of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.

A free event tailored to the village

All concerts and meetings of the festival are free to attend: a deliberate choice by the organizers, who aim to make Echi nel Vento a tool for the tourism, cultural, and environmental promotion of the entire Valle di Comino. The San Biagio Saracinisco stop, with its intimate atmosphere and the generosity of the local community, is the most authentic way to connect with the pastoral musical tradition of Lazio.