Museo Internazionale della Zampogna 'P. Vecchione'

The International Bagpipe Museum in Scapoli occupies Palazzo Mancini and is dedicated to Pasquale Vecchione. Local zampogne and instruments from other regions place the town's musical craft within a wider international context.

Why it matters

The collection connects the making of instruments with the musicians and communities who use them. Scapoli's zampogna tradition is represented alongside different forms of bagpipe and other wind instruments, showing both shared principles and distinct regional practices.

What to notice

Locally made zampogne are identified with individual craftspeople. A workshop reconstruction and tools document their production. Scottish, Irish and Northumbrian pipes invite comparison of bags, drones and chanters, while instruments such as Sardinian launeddas illustrate related wind traditions rather than bagpipes alone. A Neapolitan nativity scene recalls the place of pipers in Christmas imagery.

Context and history

Pasquale Vecchione launched the Mostra Mercato della Zampogna in 1975, helping establish the cultural setting from which the museum developed. The museum opened in 2002 following restoration of Palazzo Mancini. A digitisation project in 2023 added multimedia interpretation to the preservation of instruments, workshop knowledge and musical memory.