Nicolò Gagliano (active. c. 1730s – 1787 in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
), although there is some discussion about the exact dates) (also known as ''Nicolo'', ''Nicola'' or ''Nicolaus'' Gagliano - also sometimes known as ''Nicolò I'', to differentiate him from Nicolò II, his grandson), was an Italian
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
-maker, the eldest son of
Alessandro Gagliano. He made many admirable instruments, often imitated. Some have been mistaken for those of
Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloqui ...
. Nicolò was a more prolific maker than his brother
Gennaro (Januarius). Nicolò and Gennaro are considered the greatest luthiers in the
Gagliano family and the pinnacle of Neapolitan violin-making. Although Nicolò's work is not always entirely consistent in quality, it often shows great distinction. His instruments have bold and well-proportioned archings, with the instrument scrolls having a distinctive elongated pegbox and small tight spiral. He often placed a small label with a religious dedication inside his instruments.
Nicolò Gagliano had four sons, all makers — Ferdinando, Giuseppe (Joseph), Antonio, and Giovanni. Giuseppe's three sons Raffaele, Antonio and Nicolò (II) were also violin makers and carried the family's violin-making tradition into the middle of the 19th century.
Typical labels:
Nicolaii Gagliano fecit
in Napoli 1711
Nicolaus Gagliano filius
Alexandri fecit Neap. 1732
See also
*
Gagliano family
References
External links
Bibliography
by the John Dilworth on the Amati website.
Violin by Nicola Gagliano, Naples, 1762"
''Article based on a text prepared by the Smithsonian Institution''
Year of birth uncertain
1780 deaths
Italian musical instrument makers
18th-century Italian people
{{Italy-musician-stub