Gilberto Grácio (12 May 1936 – 1 November 2021) was a famous Portuguese

guitar maker A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be u ...

. He was born in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, the son of João Pedro Grácio Junior and the grandson of João Pedro Grácio, both renowned

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

s. He started working in his father's workshop at the age of twelve. The heir of a traditional art of

Portuguese guitar The Portuguese guitar (, ) is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six courses of two strings. It is one of the few musical instruments that still uses watch-key or Preston tuners. It is iconically associated with t ...

making that has passed through generations of the Grácio family, he is the last of the Grácio luthiers, since his sons do not want to continue the tradition. The Grácio family is considered to be one of the most important traditional guitar makers in Europe, and their contribution has helped develop the Portuguese guitar over the years. Their work together with that of the Paredes family reinvented the Lisbon guitar and created the Portuguese guitar of Coimbra. Gilberto Grácio still worked in his workshop in Lisbon, and in the past years he has devoted most of his time to teaching his art. Two of his students kept making guitars according to his family's tradition, under his supervision. Amongst the famous performers and musicians who have bought and played his instruments are

Carlos Paredes Carlos Paredes (; 16 February 1925 – 23 July 2004) was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of Portuguese guitar of all-time. Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in a family with a long t ...

António Chainho António Chainho (born 1938) is a Portuguese fado guitarist. He has worked with many of the great names in fado music, like Hermínia Silva, Carlos do Carmo and José Afonso, and world music, like Paco de Lucía. He has also recorded and to ...

, Fernando Alvim, and

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

External links

(AIMC) - Portuguese guitar Manufacturers

Guitolão photos

Portuguese Guitar site

Acoustic analysis of Gilberto Grácio guitars

Almeida, José Lucio Ribeiro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracio, Gilberto 1936 births 2021 deaths People from Lisbon Portuguese luthiers Portuguese brands