Folk songs are commonly defined as music that captures the customs, tradition and history of a certain region or place. They are usually characterized by the traditional instruments of a country distinct to its people. One such country that has a diverse repertoire of folk songs is Italy. This boot-shaped country was homogenized late since national unification came later than most European nations. This is the reason why there are many types of folk cultures, including songs, which vary according to what region of the country you are in.

Geography is the main influence of Italian music in general, specifically folk songs. This regionalism caused the distinction to be the Celtic-Slavic influence in the North, religious and work music in Sicily and the sacred chants of Sardinia to name a few.

In southern Italy, the Tarantella is a dance that exemplifies the folk music of the region. It was used in the early times to cure the bites of a Tarantula spider as it exhibits steps that imitate the steps of a spider approaching its prey. Eventually this became a percussion-based mucic genre in the region.

Sicily was more of an agricultural region so most of its folk songs related to work and harvest. Sardinia on the other hand, is an island on the southern part of the country that is a bit isolated. This is why the music in this region is composed mostly of undisturbed religions chants.

If you are not sure if you would appreciate the diverse cultural sounds of Italy, you should try to download Italian folk songs just to get a sense of the many cultures this nation has.