Meet the Luthier – Giovanni Abbatelli

“Every guitar I touch, I treat as if it will play on stage tonight.”
— Giovanni Abbatelli

🎻 From Toy Violins to Concert Stages

Giovanni Abbatelli was born in Florence, Italy, in 1962, into a family of artisans and musicians. His earliest memories involve sawdust, violin strings, and his grandfather’s hands guiding his own across wood scraps and glue pots. What began as a childhood fascination turned into a lifelong pursuit of sonic beauty.

At the age of 17, Giovanni traveled to Madrid, where he became a student of the Spanish lutherie tradition — apprenticing under renowned master Luis Marín, whose workshop was known for flamenco guitars of exceptional tone and elegance. There, Giovanni learned the Spanish heel joint, fan bracing techniques, and the meticulous art of French polish finishing using shellac and pumice — all performed by hand, layer after layer.

🪵 A Workshop of His Own – Since 1989

In 1989, Giovanni returned to Tuscany and opened his own workshop in the Oltrarno district of Florence — a historical quarter filled with sculptors, violin makers, goldsmiths, and bookbinders. Here, in a modest stone studio with arched ceilings and a north-facing window, Abbatelli Lutherie was born.

The early years were humble: Giovanni worked alone, repairing guitars for local students and opera players. Word of his skill spread quickly, especially among classical and flamenco communities. Within five years, he was building custom guitars for performers across Europe.

Each guitar was crafted slowly, intentionally — not from templates, but from instinct and trained ear. Whether a concert instrument or a beginner’s flamenco model, every piece was signed, dated, and delivered only when Giovanni was satisfied it could “speak” with character.

🧵 A Family of Makers

As time passed, the business evolved — but never grew beyond what Giovanni could hold in his own hands. He resisted industrialization, never hired factory assistants, and instead welcomed one apprentice: his own daughter, Emilia Abbatelli.

From age 13, Emilia swept the workshop floors, watched her father shape rosettes with scalpels, and learned to distinguish spruce from cedar by scent alone. Today, Emilia is a luthier in her own right — focused on soundboard voicing and finishing work. Together, they represent two generations, one philosophy.

“We don’t build guitars. We shape voices.”
— Emilia Abbatelli

🎶 Guitars That Travel the World

Abbatelli guitars are now played by concert artists, flamenco performers, and collectors from Rome to Tokyo, Berlin to New York. Yet every instrument — whether built or repaired — still passes through Giovanni’s hands. His signature is never printed. It is signed in ink, under the top, hidden from view, but present in every note.

His work has been featured in international exhibitions, lutherie festivals, and museum showcases on traditional European craftsmanship. He collaborates with conservatories, private academies, and flamenco associations worldwide.

💬 Giovanni’s Philosophy

“I build slow guitars. Not in time, but in soul.”
— Giovanni Abbatelli

For Giovanni, lutherie is not a business, but a dialogue between wood and silence — waiting to be awakened. He is known for listening longer than he speaks, for his respect toward wood, and for the simple belief that a guitar must move both air and the heart.

📸 Inside the Workshop

The Abbatelli workshop is open by appointment. Visitors are welcome to observe the tools, woods, and processes that go into each instrument:

Handmade rosettes from walnut burl and dyed maple
Traditional hide glue joints
French polishing done entirely by cloth and hand
Custom-shaped bridges with bone and pearl inlay
Aged tonewoods: German spruce, Western red cedar, Spanish cypress, and Indian rosewood
Dust, silence, coffee — and music

🎼 In Giovanni’s Words

If you ask him what he loves most about his work, he smiles and answers softly:

“The silence before the first chord.”