The ocarina is a small terracotta wind instrument that looks, to some, like a miniature submarine, to others like a potato with holes in it. I think it looks like an upside down hairdryer.
You may have never heard of it, but chances are you’ve actually heard it, because Ennio Morricone used it for one of the most famous musical phrases of Spaghetti Western history in Sergio Leone’s classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
It was born in the little town of Budrio, just outside Bologna, where they hold an international festival dedicated to their world famous instrument.
Published on Inside Europe, Radio DW, 18 April 2024.
The full episode can be found here: Inside Europe – 18 April 2024