Piedment School

Even though Northern Italy Piedment polition affiliation had passed to different leaders several times, but Turin had always been the most prosperous urban center. From 1650-1754, Turin had turned into the period of violin production, was led by Enrico Catenar (c. 1620-1701) (Gioffredo Cappa, c. 1653-1717) , (Fabrizio Senta, c. 1630 - c. 1700) , (Spirito Sorsana, c. 1714-c. 1740) and (Giovanni Francesco Celoniati, 1676-c. 1754) . Piedment school used special graver to shape more delicate violins, for example, the F hole and the scroll have to be symmetry with each others. This was one of the unique features of the German.

In addition to a few left violin makes during that time, including Nicola Giogi, therefore, they had to face the crisis of it. Until the appearance of Curcio, he provided assistance to the poor Giovanni Batista Guadagnini, and managed him to stay in Turin permanently. This had caused another arise of violin production in Piedment. Francesco Guadagnini (1863-1948) and Paolo Guadagnini (1908-1945) , the future generations of Giovanni Batista Guadagnini, they decided to continue the family business into 1950s, as they made an important historical heritage and witness for Turin.

In 1800, there were only two luthier studios in Turin: one owned by Guadagnini and the other by French luthier Nicolas Lete. The Lete-Pillement operation manufactured French-style violins due to commercial considerations. After the studio closed in 1820, Turin’s violin making developments were led by Giovanni Francesco Pressenda (1777-1854) and Joseph Calot (1753-1828) , and their pupils Alessandeo D’espini (1782-1855) and Giuseppe Roca (1807-1865) . After 1865, there was a gap in Turin’s history of violin making until the appearance of Gioffredo Benedetto Rinaldi (1850-1888) and Antonio Guadagnini (1817-1900) , who gave rise to the contemporary Turin school which continued its tradition even in the 20th century.

Pietro Melegari, 1842-1874

恩里科‧克洛多維奧‧梅萊加里 (Enrico Clodoveo Melegari, 1835-1895）和彼得羅‧梅萊加里 (Pietro Melegari,1842-1874)兩兄弟出生帕瑪 (Parma) ，1845年至1888年間活耀於杜林 (Turin)，他們使用「梅萊加里兄弟)(Fratelli Melegari)的標籤。琴身上的手工以相當古典的方式完成，包括了琴頭雕刻、音孔以及鑲線；紅褐色帶著黃陰影的漆料是梅萊加里最經常使用的漆料顏色，有時背板的漆色會比面板的漆色還要淡。梅萊加里製作的小提琴得到了許多學者的注意，並且值得讓鑑賞家仔細觀察。

Benedetto Gioffredo Rinaldi, 1850-1888

貝內代托‧喬弗瑞朵‧里納爾迪 (Gioffredo Benedetto Rinaldi, 1850-1888）1850年時在杜林工作，1888年逝世。傳說他是喬凡尼‧弗朗切斯科‧普雷森達 (Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, 1777-1854)的徒弟，同時也是《皮德蒙樂派的小提琴古典結構》(Classical Construction of Violins in Piedmont)的作者，這是一本非常有趣的傳記，書中詳細記載了普雷森達的生平與作品；里納爾迪製作的樂器數量相當稀少，其提琴風格與他的老師非常相像，琴身上塗著燦爛的漆料，翻轉時會有一絲絲的閃耀；音色非常燦爛。

另外，里納爾迪是提歐巴杜‧里納爾迪 (Teobaldo Rinaldi) 的女婿，因而標籤標示為「Gioffredo Benedetto known as Rinaldi」。里納爾迪有一家製琴公司，是杜林當地相當重要的公司，有許多的大師都曾在此工作。

Enrico Marchetti, 1855-1930

恩里柯‧馬契提 (Enrico Marchetti, 1855-1930)生於米蘭，是現代杜林系統重要製琴家，曾經幫路易吉‧巴玖尼 (Luigi Bajoni)和加埃塔諾‧羅西(Gaetano Rossi) 工作。他以優秀的技術製作大師們的複製琴，特別是加里亞諾(Gagliano)的作品。各部份的細節都經過完善處理，使用良好的木材，以及華麗且具良好效果的黃色琴漆。

他在1893年以前得過許多獎項，1893年至1912年間居住在Courgn，同時也是他的事業高峰，1912年以後到杜林工作，艾多亞多‧維多里奧‧馬契提（Edoardo Vittorio Marchetti, 1882-1930）也是制琴師。他教導的兩位學生羅曼諾‧瑪蘭格 (Romano Marengo, 1866-1926)和安瑟摩‧(Anselmo Curletto, 1888-1973)對於現代杜林學派具有重大貢獻。

Alessandro D'espine, 1782-1855

Alessandro D’espine (1782-1855) was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His family eventually moved to Besancon, France. Besides becoming a renowned dentist there, D’espine also cultivated an interest in making violins and performing on them. He moved with his parents to Turin sometime between 1810 and 1812. He became an amateur luthier because of his undying passion for making violins.

The quality of his instruments is quite high. He possibly had an influence on both Giovanni Francesco Pressenda and Allessandro D’espine when he first started working in Turin. There were no other famous luthiers working in the area at that time. Giovanni Battista Guadagnini only repaired instruments and made plucked string instruments at his workshop.

His violins appear not to have been influenced by any school or area’s style. The varnishes he made are of a very high quality, and were usually dark brown and orange. D’espine won an award for “real oil varnish” at an exhibition in Turin in 1829.

Carlo Bruno, 1872-1964

Carlo Bruno (1872-1964) was born in Sicily, Italy. He moved with his parents to Turin possibly when he was a child. Currently there is not any documentation to prove whether he studied how to make violins at the luthier school; however, when looking at his isntruments, he apparently learned how to make violins on his own.

In 1900, Bruno started making violins, and he participated in many expositions and contests. In 1899, he participated in an exposition in Marseilles, France. The next year he won a bronze medal from the University of Paris. In 1916 and 1917, he won silver medals in a national competition in Rome. His instruments are similar to other luthiers from Turin. He is most famous for making guitars and mandolins.

Annibale Fagnola, 1865-1939

Annibale Fagnola (1865-1939) was born in Montiglio, Italy. He moved to Turin in 1894. When he moved there, Marengo Rinaldi (1866-1935) was the only person there that was running a luthier shop. Fagnola starting making violins with the help of Rinaldi, as well as instrument collector Orazio Roggiero (1872-1938), who lent him instruments for study and research. Fagnola had the opportunity to familiarize himself with violins made by the masters, and this also developed his interest in learning how to make bows as well.

In 1899, Fagnola began running his own luthier shop. He imitated the instruments of Stradivari, Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, and Giuseppe Rocca. He also had his own individual style. The varnishes he used are yellowish orange and red. His insturments have an elegant appearance and a sonorous timbre. Fagnola’s best instruments were made in the 1920s.

Luigi Azzola, 1883-1973

Luigi was born in Venice, and he moved to Turin along with his family in 1896. He began his amateur life as a luthier after his frequently appearance in the workshop of Annibale Fagnola. The style of Azzola had been based on Fagnola’s.