In focus: a 1937 violin by Paolo De Barbieri

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Paolo De Barbieri was born in 1889 in Genoa. In 1902, aged 13, he left a note on the kitchen table which read ‘Back in a minute’: he left home for about six years to work as a cabin boy. He completed his military service in the navy and in ...

Paolo De Barbieri was born in 1889 in Genoa. In 1902, aged 13, he left a note on the kitchen table which read ‘Back in a minute’: he left home for about six years to work as a cabin boy. He completed his military service in the navy and in 1912 received a medal for participating in the Italian attack on the Dardanelles, part of the Italo–Turkish War. It is not clear when De Barbieri started making violins; it seems that during his naval service he made guitars for his friends.

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