Christmas in Lecce/ Bagpipes and ciaramelle

Bagpipes and ciaramelle are always played together, usually in the ratio of one to two. A wind instrument of pastoral origin and character the first, a popular musical instrument of the oboe family the second, they meet at Christmas time and form an 'orchestra of their own', thanks to their complex and rhythmic sounds. The juxtaposition of the reed-pipe and the ciaramella became widespread thanks to itinerant pipers, who began to use their instruments not only in pastoral and Christmas contexts. In Lecce, this ancient tradition can be encountered for two Saturdays in the streets of the city centre, from Via Trinchese to Piazza Mazzini, Piazza Sant'Oronzo and Piazza Duomo as they play Christmas lullabies and Christmas music.