Gagliano Family History of Violin Making
Alessandro Gagliano (1665-1732)
Alessandro, a native of Naples, traveled north to Cremona where he trained under none other than Antonio Stradivari and Nicolo Amati. He brought the expertise of the Cremonese masters back to Naples and trained two sons, Nicola I and Gennaro. He had four luthier grandsons: Ferdinando, Giuseppe, Antonio I, and Giovanni, and at least three luthier great grandsons (Nicola II, Raffaele, and Antonio II). Alessandro left a remarkable legacy, a family lineage of violin makers spanning two centuries (c. 1665-1886).
Nicolò Gagliano (1710-1785)
Among the great makers of the Neapolitan tradition, Nicolò Gagliano, son of Alessandro, stands out for his consistently high standards of craftsmanship and sound quality. His instruments are among the most highly sought-after of the Gagliano family. Nicolò followed in the footsteps of Stradivari, as did later generations of the family, though he, in particular, sometimes used Amati models. New developments pioneered with his brother Gennaro and son Giuseppe include a harder, slightly green-yellow varnish, beach wood for linings and purfling, and paper fiber for the black outer strips of the purfling. All of these elements later became hallmarks of the Neapolitan school.
Guiseppe Gagliano (1742-1820)
Guiseppe (Joseph), son and pupil of the great Neapolitan maker Nicolò Gagliano, attained a level of craftsmanship that at its best equals that of his father. He later collaborated with his brother Antonio, but in general works produced exclusively by Giuseppe are superior to those produced jointly.
Sources: Wikipedia, Tarisio, Metzler Violins.