Delightful mandolino is a symbol of Neapolitan culture and music that, outside of Italy, came to symbolize the Bel Paese as a whole. Almost two centuries of migration towards all corners of the world, especially of people coming from the southern regions of the country, meant that, to many, a specific local heritage became signifier of Italy as a whole.
And so, around the globe, this beautiful little instrument typical of Neapolitan tradition is one of our most recognizable symbols, even if its use is not common everywhere. At the same time, Neapolitan traditional music, of which mandolin is such an important part, is in fact at the root of Italian popular music as a whole and also of that bel canto our country made famous everywhere: in this sense, then, each element of Neapolitan music is relevant to our musical culture, to its very development.
Our mandolin hasn’t had an easy life though, especially in recent decades, when all that was local, traditional, and popular — that is, coming from the people, in its literal sense — was perceived as too “provincial” for a cultural world more and more determined to become global and fashionably oriented towards the foreign. In times closer to us — truly, in the last 10 to 20 years — we finally understood that embracing the world doesn’t mean rejecting our roots and that, in fact, taking pride in them and keeping them alive and well is the only manner to truly be a cultural citizen of the world: feet solidly placed in our traditions, ready to understand the beauty of others.
But even if we look to the mandolin through the lenses of the value of our heritage, its complexity and wealth remain largely unknown. Behind this small, smooth and round string instrument are a long history of luthiers’ craftsmanship, of music and creativity, one that not many know.
Most of us, of course, have a very specific image in mind when they think of il mandolino: Naples, Mount Vesuvius, Pulcinella, who’s often seen playing one. Its voice is unmistakable: chirpy, fun, warm, filled with the silvery cheer of laughter, but also replete of pathos, of sorrow, of the tears of deceived lovers and migrants who miss their Fatherland. The voice of the mandolin has become the voice of Neapolitan music and its themes and, in this already, we should recognize a musical instrument able to paint with accuracy the many facets of human emotions and feelings. Not many are aware, however, that the mandolin had an enormous success also among classical composers, including Vivaldi, Mozart, Händel, Beethoven, and Verdi. This is to say: mandolin is more than a folk music instrument.
It’s not only the richness of its creative language that strikes, though, but also its history, which is in part still steeped in mystery. Its origins are not simple to pinpoint, but most historians seem to agree that its forefather was an oriental instrument, the oud, which was already known in pre-roman times. However, it is in 18th century Naples, in its opulently baroque streets, that our mandolin starts becoming famous, thanks to the craftsmanship of the Vinaccia family, able luthiers not only known for the quality, but also for the beauty of their instruments: Vinaccia mandolins had richly carved and decorated bodies and elegant ivory inserts along their necks. In the 19th century, Pasquale Vinaccia, luthier to the Queen of Italy, introduced a way to regulate string tension in mandolins which is still in use on modern instruments. He also used steel strings instead of brass ones, which made the sound of mandolins much clearer.
But the relationship between the Vinaccia family and mandolins goes back to the 18th century when they were already known luthiers in the city of Parthenope. We remember Gennaro, who worked between 1755 and 1784, his sons Antonio, Vincenzo (who produced mandolins between 1767 and 1802), and Giovanni (particularly active between 1767 and 1777). Antonio’s son, Gaetano, was responsible for the family atelier between 1779 and 1821. To him succeeded Pasquale Vinaccia, whom we mentioned already.
While the Vinaccias were undoubtedly the most famous mandolin makers in Naples, there were other luthiers active in the city, especially between 1720 and 1820, a sign of the popularity of the instrument also outside the boundaries of the Kingdom of Naples and of Italy. Indeed, even the Tzars were interested in mandolins, so much so they sent for a mandolin maker to hire and work for them in Russia: they eventually chose Eduardo Amurri. Among all the luthier families in Naples, however, the Vinaccias had, perhaps, only one rival, the Fabbricatore Brothers, who didn’t only specialize in the production of mandolins and guitars but also in music printing.
While today we tend to associate the mandolin to popular music, that performed, so to speak, in the street, it hasn’t always been the case. In fact, especially in the 19th century, the mandolin was an élite instrument, loved and played especially among Neapolitan nobility. Actually, even Italy’s own queen, the Regina Margherita — yes, that Regina Margherita, who inspired the homonymous pizza — played it. However, when Neapolitan music made of the mandolin its most typical instrument, it became too popular for the VIPs of those times to keep on playing it. In those very years, towards the late 19th century, another famous family of Neapolitan luthiers emerges, the Calace family. Nicola Calace, who was confined to Procida because of political reasons, began producing mandolins on the island and, after his death, his two sons, Antonio and Raffaele, moved to Naples continuing the activity. The Calace brothers, however, weren’t too keen on one another, at least professionally and so Antonio eventually moved to the US, where he continued his luthier’s activity along with another Neapolitan immigrant, Nicola Turturro. Raffaele remained in Naples and became both a famous luthier and composer.
Of all the great Neapolitan mandolin makers, the Calace family is the only one still active.
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