About:

OUR HISTORY

The Calace “Liuteria” lute-making workshop, was founded in 1825 by Nicola Calace, in the island of Procida near Naples, where Nicola was confined for political reasons. He started the Art of lute-making, producing appreciated guitars. When he died, the tradition was continued by his son Antonio, who after moving to Naples, started making unique, precious mandolins, which can nowdays be admired in private collections.

He had two sons, Nicola and Raffaele, to whom he handed down all the secret technical skills of the lute-making Art. When he died the two brothers worked togheter making refined mandolins, but quite soon the undoubted superiority of Raffaele Calace as composer, musician and lute-marker, caused unremediable conflict between the two brothers; therefore Nicola Calace emigratated to America in 1906, where togheter with his Italian friend “Nicola Turturro”  continued his artcraft achieving beautiful instruments. In the meanwhile Raffaele Calace’s genius kept ascending .

He composed more than 180 works for plectrum instruments; was universally aknowledged and defined “The Paganini of the mandolin” for the vigour and expressivity of this work; he was a great concertist of singable lute appreciated throughout the world and directed the magazine “Musica Moderna” (Modern Music); he studied and improved the mandolin, achieving nowdays technically advanced instruments and edited his own works.

He received a great number of official important aknowledgements for this unceasing activity, among which is worth mentioning “The Cross of the Sacred Japanese Treasure”. He handed down his Art and skill to his son Giuseppe Calace, who made precious instruments and together with  his sister Maria, continued the concertist tradition.

He too received many honours and the Commendam by Italian Royal Crown. Giuseppe  handed down the secret of the lute-making art, to his son Raffaele Jr. who, from the death of his father has followed the glorious family tradition continuing the production and the technical improvement of the instruments, which nowdays represent a reference for all concertist of the field. In the last 32 years of his activity he has received numerous honours such as: gold medals, 1st price awards etc.

If the mandolinistic culture is nowdays growing and spreading it is also thanks to the “Calace Liuteria” lute-making workshop.

Contact:

Nicola Calace Luthier, Italy