Mazzillo, Pietro Nicola

Born in Tortora (prov. Cosenza, Calabria, near the border with Basilicata); A member of a family of pipers (his grandfather and father were able Zampognari, and some of his brothers and cousins played, less frequently, as well), When he was a shepherd of about 12 years old he started to play the Zampogna and Ciaramella; At the same age he made, out of necessity, his first parts of a Zampogna, with a knife; Then he started to frequent the shop of mastro Vincenzo Cannazzaro in Laino Borgo [E of Tortora], who taught him, now 14-15 years old, the use of the lathe; In 1962 he settled in Auletta (prov. Salerno); Having always lived in precarious economic conditions, the family income was for several years based on his earnings from the sale of Zampogne and his musical wanderings in Italy and abroad; The types of wood he used were maple (Acer), Olive (Olea europaea) and almond (Prunus mygdales); For economical reasons, as well as in the spirit of independence and vagrancy, he was the most mobile of all mastri known in the region; On his short trips he was accompanied by other players from neighbouring villages or by visiting researchers, but on his longer journeys he preferred to be accompanied by his natural son, Giovanni Palermo (*1964); The same person as Nicola Mazzillo?; NB: ➺ Azzeo Gelsomino, and Giuseppe Iuzzolino.