Zampogna, Ciaramella and Folk Instruments Gathering (Amici della Rosamarina)

An Irpinian town that returns to playing

In mid-September, the center of San Michele di Serino, a town of just over two thousand inhabitants in the Sabato Valley, in the province of Avellino, transforms into an open-air stage. The Zampogna, Ciaramella and Folk Instruments Gathering is not a concert with a stage and seated audience: it is a day where musicians walk through the town streets while people gather, sing, and dance behind them. No rigid setlist, no pre-established order: they play together, simply for the joy of it.

The event was born in 2019 on the initiative of the Amici della Rosamarina «Michelina Venezia» ODV association, chaired by Pietro Giliberti, with the patronage of the Municipality of San Michele di Serino. In just a few years, it has become a benchmark for traditional music in Campania, attracting dozens of zampognari from across the Center-South.

The Rosamarina, a tradition of begging

The association's name refers to an ancient custom of the upper Sabato Valley: the rosamarina, a rosemary branch decorated with citrus fruits and ribbons that was carried from house to house as a good omen, accompanied by a begging song. This practice was documented in Irpinia as early as the 16th century and survived until the last century during Easter and festive periods.

The community decided to dedicate the entire event to the figure of Michelina Venezia, known as «Rosamarina», a local woman who passed away a few years ago and was a guardian of those songs. The gathering is, therefore, first and foremost an act of memory: recovering repertoires, gestures, and instruments that were disappearing.

The featured instruments

• Zampogna — the bagpipe of the Southern Apennines, in its keyed and 'zoppa' variants
• Ciaramella (or pipita) — the folk oboe that dialogues with the zampogna
• Organetto and diatonic accordion
• Tammorra, tambourine, and other percussion instruments of the Campanian tradition
• Harmonica, triccheballacche, scetavajasse, and improvised instruments

How the day unfolds

The now-established format alternates between ritual and convivial moments. It begins in the morning with the registration of musicians, continues with "free sounds" through the town streets, and reaches its peak at noon with the blessing of the instruments in the church of San Michele Arcangelo and the tribute to the patron saint. This is followed by a communal lunch set up along Via Roma, then an afternoon of performances and, in closing, the lottery draw.

The link to popular devotion is not accidental: in the 1950s, pairs of zampogna and ciaramella players would leave these towns for Naples to accompany the novenas, playing for nine consecutive days in front of sacred images. The gathering recovers exactly that thread.

Conferences, workshops, and the transmission of knowledge

Alongside the festive aspect, the association has built a dimension of study over time. The 2024 edition hosted the conference Notes of Devotion. Traditional non-liturgical music and songs, under the scientific direction of Prof. Ugo Vuoso (CEIC Institute, University of Salerno), and saw the participation of groups such as the Gruppo San Michele of Olevano sul Tusciano and the Arciconfraternita del SS. Sacramento of Minori. During the weekend, a zampogna-making workshop remains open to the public.

The association also organizes courses in zampogna, ciaramella, tammorra, and organetto aimed primarily at the younger generation, with the idea that these instruments should not only be played at Christmas but all year round. The artistic direction is entrusted to Roberto D'Agnese.

Why it's worth the trip

Visitors from outside the region will find here one of the rare opportunities to listen to Southern folk music in its natural context: the street, the churchyard, the shared table. There is no ticket, no barrier. San Michele di Serino is less than ten kilometers from Avellino and just over half an hour from Salerno, making the gathering an easy stop for those visiting Irpinia in September, when the inland Campania enters the season of the grape harvest and food festivals.