Skip to main content

Fabio Zontini

Fabio Zontini
Fabio Zontini & Richard Sayage in Rome 2018

Fabio Zontini was born in Milan in 1971. His love for music, for the guitar and above all his meeting with the Maestro Liutaio Carlo Raspagni, which took place in the latter’s workshop in 1992, brought him closer to the world of violin making. The instinctive passion for this craft pushes him to enroll in the Civic School of Violin making in Milan in the same year, where in 1996 he obtained the diploma of Master Luthier Restorer.

For more than ten years he dedicated himself to the construction of classical guitars inspired by the historical violin making of the period between eight and nine hundred; Antonio De Torres (of which he made a copy of the famous guitar “Papier Machè”), Francisco Simplicio, Robert Bouchet, Hermann Hauser I and Pietro Gallinotti, who has studied the original instruments in order to better understand the construction methods.

In addition to the reproduction of copies of romantic guitars (Antonio Rovetta, Louis Panormo, Joseph Marconcini, Carlo Godone and others) promoting the interest of musicians towards these instruments in the belief that they are the most suitable to deal with the nineteenth-century repertoire. He pays particular attention, both in the construction and in the restoration, to the philological aspect, engaging in research work and in the acquisition of information.

His instruments are handcrafted in every detail and the projects are inspired by tradition, to make warm sounding guitars and round, in balance between sound volume and timbral richness. This is to give the musician an expressive means that allows him to enhance the intrinsic characteristics of the “guitar instrument” that, unlike others, offers the possibility of producing sounds with a wide range of nuances. He has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. and has held lectures and lessons in the field of guitar festivals in Italy and abroad. (including the festival of Brno in the Czech Republic and the Querètaro Festival in Mexico.It is a member of ALI (Italian professional violin makers).

Today he continues his work in the quiet of the Ligurian regions, in the province of Savona among Olle’s olive trees, surrounded by his house and his workshop.

Please see our offering of Fabio Zontini guitars here

Fabio Zontini discussing his work and philosophy on building classical guitars