Biography

Gaetano Pollastri (b 1886 - d 1960)
Gaetano, Augusto's

Augusto Pollastri

Augusto Pollastri - was a renowned Italian violin maker, older brother to Gaetano Pollastri....

 younger brother,was a professional violinist but after the first world war he devoted himself to violin making. He worked with the same company as his brother in via Castiglione, that was devoted to the construction, repair and commerce of string instruments. In 1927 he received the Certificate of Honour at the contemporary violin making exhibition-competition in Cremona. When Augusto died in 1927, he took over his brother's company. In the following twenty years Gaetano constructed numerous instruments of which, in 1930, a violin with papal coat of arms that he personally donated to Pope Pious XI. He also restored precious violins; among them, a Stradivari and a Guarneri

Guarneri

The Guarneri is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families...

 of Guglielmo Marconi brother's property, Alfonso. He won the Certificate of Honour in Cremona in 1949. In 1954 he showed two violins at the 2nd National Competition of Contemporary violin making in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, obtaining a Certificate of Honour, and was present with his instruments at the Ascoli Piceno ('54) and Pegli ('56) competitions. He worked very hard to promote his profession and was a founding associate of the ANLAI. His students include Cesare Pollastri, Franco Albanelli

Franco Albanelli

Franco Albanelli was an Italian luthier, a pupil of Gaetano Pollastri.Albanelli was born in Castel San Pietro Terme, Emilia-Romagna, Italy....

 and Otello Bignami

Otello Bignami

-Biography:Otello Bignami - born in Bologna, Italy on August 6, 1914 and died in Bologna on December 1, 1989.The life of Otello Bignami closely resembles the lives of various 19th century violin makers in that he drew much vitality from the farming and craft traditions of his origins...

. - Il Suono di Bologna

Living Museum

Discover the history of the Bolognese School

'Up to the first half of the nineteenth century, Violin Making in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 was in a standstill cycle; yet, during the second half of the century, Raffaele Fiorini :it:Fiorini Raffaele gave new impulse to it.
Thanks to him, born in Musiano di Pianoro,the luthier's ancient Art was brought back to a new life.' - History | Bolognese Violin Makers | www.ilsuonodibologna.org | The Violin making Tradition of Bologna

View a fine example of Gaetano Pollastri violin Bologna circa 1936 :

Gaetano Pollastri violin Bologna circa 1936

Gaetano Pollastri - violin 1936 top

Gaetano Pollastri - violin 1936 back

Gaetano Pollastri - violin 1936 f-hole closeup

Gaetano Pollastri - violin 1936 scroll