Viggiano is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Potenza The Province of Potenza ( it, Provincia di Potenza; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There a ...

, in the Southern Italian region of

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. It is bounded by the comuni of

Calvello Calvello ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata, known for its traditional production of artistic ceramics. It is bounded by the towns of Abriola, Anzi, Laurenzana, Marsi ...

Corleto Perticara Corleto Perticara ( Corletano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Armento, Gorgoglione, Guardia Perticara, Laurenzana, Montemurro, Pietrapertosa, Vi ...

Grumento Nova Grumento Nova is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The ancient name of the town was Saponara. In the locality Spineta are the remains of the Roman town of Grumentum Grumentum ( grc, ...

Laurenzana Laurenzana ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata (southern Italy). It rises on a spur between the torre Camastro and the wood surrounding the Serrapotamo valley. History Laurenzana's origins ...

Marsicovetere Marsicovetere ( Lucano: ) is a town of and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geography It is bounded by the comuni of Calvello, Grumento Nova, Marsico Nuovo, Paterno, Tramutola and Viggiano. His ...

, and

Montemurro Montemurro is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demogr ...

. Viggiano is known for migrant street musicians who have brought their music to Italy and worldwide through the centuries, as well as renowned for the construction of

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

s. Many Viggianesi had the opportunity to play in many symphonic orchestras in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The street musicians from Viggiano are cited as an influence on

Hector Malot Hector-Henri Malot (Hector Malot) (20 May 1830 – 18 July 1907) was a French writer born in La Bouille, Seine-Maritime. He studied law in Rouen and Paris, but eventually literature became his passion. He worked as a dramatic critic for ''Lloyd Fra ...

's '' Sans Famille''. Today Viggiano is known to be home to Europe's largest onshore hydrocarbon field that makes Italy the third-largest oil producer of the continent, behind

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The comune hosted from 1997 to 2013 the International Flute Competition "

Leonardo De Lorenzo Leonardo De Lorenzo (August 29, 1875 – July 29, 1962) was an Italian virtuoso flutist and music educator. Biography Born at Viggiano, in the province of Potenza, De Lorenzo started playing the flute at the age of 8 and went to Naples to at ...

", some the jury members over the years included

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century." Biography Ea ...

Julius Baker Julius Baker (September 23, 1915 – August 6, 2003) was one of the foremost American orchestral flute players. During the course of five decades he concertized with several of America's premier orchestral ensembles including the Chicago Sympho ...

Jindřich Feld Jindřich Feld (February 19, 1925 in Prague, Czechoslovakia – July 8, 2007 in Prague, Czech Republic) was a Czech composer of classical music. Feld was born into a musical family, his father a well-known professor of violin at the Prague C ...

, Susan Milan, Carol Wincenc, and

Ransom Wilson Ransom Wilson (born 25 October 1951 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) is an American flutist, conductor, and educator. He currently is an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Le Train Bleu ensemble ...

People linked to Viggiano

- flautist and music educator *

Victor Salvi Victor Salvi (\ˈvik-tər\ \ˈsal-vē \); (March 4, 1920 – May 10, 2015) was an American-born harpist, harp maker, and entrepreneur. Salvi, who has been called "harpmaker of the world", was of Italian descent. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he ...

- harp maker *

Mark Bresciano Mark Bresciano ( ; ; born 11 February 1980) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in Melbourne, Bresciano played youth football for Bulleen Lions, before moving into the National Soccer League with ...

- football player *

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for t ...

- musician * Francesco Ferramosca - violinist

Demographics

References

Cities and towns in Basilicata {{Basilicata-geo-stub