In spite of the intensive research undertaken by scholars, collectors and violin makers over the past 30 years, the history of Italian violin making is still far from fully documented. Owing to the huge diversity of historical, political and social situations in the highly fragmented Italian peninsula, there are still many important areas whose lutherie traditions need to be clarified.

Claudio Amighetti’s new book on the violin making school of Turin, from the Baroque era up to the time of the French Revolution, successfully fills the gap for this region. The volume is the result of 30 years’ research in the archives of Saluzzo, Turin and Savona: a quest indeed, undertaken with passion and patience, which unearthed a huge number of records on a wide range of makers (he has located 140 documents about Cappa alone!) within the two centuries investigated.