In Central and Southern Italy such a duo consists, commonly, of a Piffero [shawm] and a Zampogna, but according to some authors, "in Sicily the Piffero is not connected with the bagpipe"; In one of his writings on Christmas customs Giuseppe Pitrè informs us, however, that the ciaramiddari (sonatori di Ciannamelle) "vanno in giro di giorno e di sera, ma non di notte" [go around by day and in the evening*, but not at night"], adding that they play together with a Piffero, and that the sound of the ciannamella is sometimes associated with that of the scattagnetti [castanets] and the "ring full of rattles"; NB¹: Some depictions show a ciaramiddaru accompanied by a tamburello [tambourine] player; *NB²: The Italian term "sera" [evening] is, as such, rather inaccurate, because it is already used "after lunch time", which tends to be earlier in the North than in Rome and the South; Friends in southern Italy told me that it actually depends on the position of the sun: When it starts declining, the "sera" begins, and from that moment people stop saying "buon giorno" [good day], using "buona sera", instead ("buona notte" [good night] is used after dinner / supper only, and Italians don’t use the expression "good morning" at all); NB³: ➺ homonyms, &c.

Ciaramiddari