Pasquale Vinaccia

Pasquale Vinaccia
Pasquale Vinaccia, luthier and creator of the Neapolitan Mandolin.
Born(1806-07-20)20 July 1806
Italy
Diedc. 1882
Italy
OccupationLuthier
Known forcreating the "Neapolitan Mandolin"

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.