Mauro Squillante is a plucked-instruments researcher, a

mandolinist A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight strings. A ...

and president of the Accademia Mandolinistica Napoletana (Neapolitan Mandolin Academy) in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, teaching classical-music mandolin. He also teaches at the Conservatory "Piccinni" of Bari and the "Martucci" of Salerno. He is important in the movement to revive the Neapolitan mandolin in its native city, where the instrument went out of style and its history became hard to access. His specialty is "ancient plucked string instruments" including the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...

mandolone A mandolone is a member of the mandolin family, created in the 18th century. It is a bass range version of the Neapolitan mandolin.Sterling Publishing Company, New York, ''Musical Instruments of the World'', page 188 Its range was not as good as t ...

colascione The colascione (or calascione, , , also sometimes known as liuto della giraffa meaning giraffe-lute, a reference to its long neck) is a plucked string instrument from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods,Anthony Baines: Lexikon der Mu ...

and

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

. As part of rebuilding the presence of the Neapolitan mandolin in Naples, he and the Neapolitan Mandolin Academy take part in the Mandolin House, a performance venue but also a place for international students to take classes. The house works as a place where tourists can be exposed to the mandolin. The academy is recognized as having contributed to the revival of the mandolin in Naples. Squillante is a graduate of the Pollini Conservatory of Padua and did further studying under with

Hopkinson Smith Hopkinson Smith (born December 7, 1946) is a Swiss- American lutenist and pedagogue, longtime resident in Basel, Switzerland. Smith was born in New York City, the son of architectural writer and photographer G. E. Kidder Smith. He graduated fr ...

and

Crawford Young Crawford Young is an American lutenist and musicologist residing in Basel, Switzerland. He is the director of the Ferrara Ensemble, Ensemble Project Ars Nova, Shield of Harmony, and is a long time accompanist of Andreas Scholl. Life and career R ...

(at the

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that hav ...

Enrico Baiano Enrico Baiano (Naples, October 2, 1960) is an Italian harpsichordist and fortepianist, known on the international stage as a virtuoso and strict interpreter of early music. Biography He graduated in piano and composition at Conservatorio San ...

, Federico Marincola, Emilia Fadini and Edoardo Egüez.

References

External links

Page that talks about improvement over 25 years due to Squillante's efforts.Courses offered at Neapolitan Mandolin Academy and names of professors.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Squillante, Mauro Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Italian mandolinists Italian music historians