Angelo Vailati 2026
"Hommage a Simplicio"

A new fantastic guitar made exclusively for MADERA by one of Italy’s most important contemporary guitar makers, Angelo Vailati. This is his Concert Guitar model, featuring a special rosette and ornamental details throughout the instrument that make it a tribute to the historic Barcelona guitar maker Francisco Simplicio, one of the great figures of Spanish guitar making in the first half of the twentieth century.

The guitar is based on a 1929 Simplicio guitar. It is a homage to the aesthetic that Simplicio popularized, representing one of the most remarkable periods in the history of guitar making, when a beautiful balance was achieved between rich ornamentation and refined elegance. This aesthetic can be admired in the guitars of Simplicio and also in those of his teacher, Enrique García.

Beyond its visual inspiration, Vailati has also succeeded in evoking the warm and beautiful sound that these great Barcelona makers achieved in their instruments. The result is a guitar that captures both the visual and tonal spirit of that golden era. An astonishing achievement by Vailati in every aspect.

For this special commission from MADERA, Angelo selected exquisite woods, top quality Spruce and Indian Rosewood for back and sides with straight, even grain that we at MADERA particularly appreciate. The rosette mosaic is echoed in the headstock decoration and in the bridge, which is crafted from dark Brazilian rosewood.

For those guitarists who appreciate the warm and beautiful traditional Spanish sound of the golden age of Spanish guitar making, combined with excellent projection and balance, and who are equally drawn to the distinctive ornamentation characteristic of Simplicio and García from that period, this guitar is made for them.

Angelo Vailati was born on November 28, 1977, in Treviglio, in the province of Bergamo, northern Italy. His passion for guitar making began in an unusual way: at sixteen he received his first guitar, and instead of practicing scales, he found himself far more drawn to understanding how it was built. That same summer, with no training and no proper tools, he built his first instrument out of recycled beech plywood taken from his father’s old cinema seats. The result was as peculiar as it was doomed: screws served as tuning pegs, there was no fingerboard, aluminum strips stood in for frets, and the body warped as soon as steel strings were added. That first attempt didn’t survive — but the seed had been planted.

Shortly after, his father brought him a spruce top and a maple set from Cremona for a small guitar, almost as if he sensed the path his son would eventually follow. After a pause of several years, Angelo picked the craft back up in 2001 and enrolled at the Civica Scuola di Liuteria di Milano, in the plucked-instruments section. Over the four years of professional training, he combined hands-on workshop practice with theoretical subjects such as acoustics, chemistry, instrument history, and restoration. His first guitar at the school was inspired by an 1890 Torres model (SE141).

Toward the end of his studies, he had the good fortune of being mentored by luthier Enrico Bottelli, from whom he learned constructive precision, the art of ornamentation, and the harmonious combination of woods. It was also alongside Bottelli, listening to guitar recordings together, that Angelo discovered the instrument’s expressive richness — and it was there that his admiration for the great Spanish makers took root: Antonio de Torres, Enrique García, Manuel Ramírez, Francisco Simplicio, Santos Hernández, and Domingo Esteso, a heritage that has shaped the character of his work ever since.

That pull toward the Spanish school led him, in 2006, to Sigüenza, where he attended the prestigious José Romanillos guitar-making course, and in 2008 to Granada, where he worked alongside Italian luthier Daniele Chiesa, deepening his knowledge of the traditional methods of the Granada school and the importance of consistency and rigor in every guitar he builds.

Today, Angelo Vailati builds his guitars alone, entirely by hand, personally selecting each piece of wood and tending to every detail of the process. For him, a fine guitar should sound musical with just a few notes: a deep tone, with distant echoes and a warm timbre capable of inspiring the player. It’s a pursuit he himself admits no lifetime is long enough to fully exhaust — and it is precisely this that sets his instruments apart for the guitarists and collectors who seek them out today.