2-888-043 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Pifferari, [in Rome], 1850. Scene depicting 'The appearance of the peasant minstrels (The Pifferari), whose strains form the very simple, but heart-stirring "Christmas Carol" of Rome...They are Calabrian shepherds, who come down from their highland homes at Christmas, and on their national instruments, a sort of small clarionet and bagpipe, perform their wild but harmonious native airs, before the various representations of the Madonna and Child which are scattered in every direction through the city. They generally remain in Rome from ten days to a fortnight; after which they disappear...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.