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An overlooked wonder: Pietro Barbieri

2026-09-04T08:48:13.340

SEPTEMBER Grid posts (6)

Despite having made only a handful of instruments in his career, Pietro Barbieri proved to be one of Mantua’s most accomplished luthiers. Philip Kass and Andrea Zanrè look into his life and examine an instrument from 1826

While researching our book Liuteria Mantovana, we were aware that there were several virtually unknown makers working in Mantua in the early 19th century. Thus it was with a great deal of excitement that we were able to discover not only their life stories but also extant examples of their work: after a fashion, resurrecting them from oblivion. In the case of Pietro Barbieri there was one known example, from photographs only: a violin of 1817. Two further examples, from 1812 and c.1820, surfaced in subsequent months…

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