Naples: The city of mandolin master luthiers

The research continues !


The 2016 finds the "Memories of the innocent age" to flirt once again with the unique idea converting an old Neapolitan style mandolin into a miso-bouzouko.

After a lot of though and taking in great consideration opinions by followers,  the vintage 1890 Vega mandolin kept intact, restored, and possessed by a traditional music enthusiast who resides in the beautiful island of Crete.


As the research for a vintage unlabeled Neapolitan-style mandolin started once again, I collected interesting information regarding the history of mandolin making in Italy and especially in the area of Naples.

Since 1800, Naples Italy was full of luthiers who built mandolins (there were about 200) even if only few of them are well known nowaday. (as Calace,Vinaccia,etc)

Also during these years, there were luthiers, named : "cassari" who built only the "bowl back part" of the mandolins, for the most  important and famous workshops, as Calace and Vinaccia.

Other luthiers specialized on the "decoration" elements of the instrument.
The most famouses of them came from "Torre del Grego "city, where also today  are the famouses  "corallari", ( coral's workers, MOP workers)

The most important mandolin builders in Italy during the 1890-1930 era were :

Naples: Vinaccia Fratelli; Maratea, Michele & Domenico E Figli; Esposito, Fratelli Pasquale & Gaetano; Calace, Raffaele; Rubino, Gennaro; Loveri, Carlo & Figli; Ricci, Luigi; Abbate, Alessandro & Figli; 

Catania: Carabba Fratelli; Indelicato, Salvatore;  Porto, Rosario & Figli; Alfio, Bianca Francesco; Puglisi Reale & Figlio; Silvestri, Ermelinda; 

Firenze: Maurri R. & Fratelli; Lybeert, Alessandro & Figli; Casini, Seraphino; Del Perugia, Fernandino; 

Rome: Valente, Raffaele; De Santis, Giovanni & Figli; Embergher, Luigi; 

Others Locations: Compare, Vittorio in Livorno; Albertini, Carlo & Figli in Milan (mandolini lombardi only); Ventura, Enrico, and Cesana, Carlo in Carate-Brianza; Rocca, Enrico fu Giuseppe in Genoa; Bruno, Carlo in Torino; Garganesi, Vito & Antonio in Monopoli; Mozzani, Prof. Liuteria in Cento, Ferrara;  and Averna, Gesualdo in Caltanissetta.

Memories will continue the journey back into the 1920s-1930s era,  researching for a Neapolitan style mandolin
, in an attempt to hear for first time the original sound of a mandolino-bouzouko

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