Pasquale Vinaccia

Pasquale Vinaccia (1806 – c. 1882) was an Italian luthier, appointed instrument-maker for the Queen of Italy, and maternal grandfather to Carlo Munier. In 1835 he improved the mandolin, creating a version of the instrument that used steel wires for strings, known today as the "Neapolitan Mandolin." His use of steel strings has become the dominant way of stringing mandolins.

Developing the mandolin The first evidence of modern metal-string mandolins is from literature regarding popular Italian players who travelled through Europe teaching and giving concerts. Notable are Gabriele Leone, Giovanni Battista Gervasio, Pietro Denis, who travelled widely between 1750 and 1810. This, with the records gleaned from the Italian Vinaccia family of luthiers in Naples, Italy, led some musicologists to believe that the modern steel-string mandolins were developed in Naples by the Vinaccia family. Pasquale was born into this musical instrument making family and was the son of Gaetano Vinaccia.

Elder family and cousins There is confusion currently as to the name of the eldest Vinaccia luthier. His name has been put forth as Gennaro Vinaccia (c.1710-c.1788) (active c. 1755-c. 1778) and Nic. Vinaccia.

His son Antonio Vinaccia (1734-1796) was active c. 1756 to c. 1784. An early extant example of a mandolin is one built by Antonio Vinaccia in 1759, which resides at the University of Edinburgh. Another is by Giuseppe Vinaccia, built in 1893, is also at the University of Edinburgh. The earliest extant mandolin was built in 1744 by Antonio's son, Gaetano Vinaccia. It resides in the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels, Belgium.

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