Paoletti Leonardo 500 "I Nodi" Limited Edition #06/10

PAOLETTI GUITARS COMPANY

Back in 2005, Fabrizio Paoletti founded Paoletti Guitars—a special guitar company that pays homage to both Italian craftsmanship and Paoletti’s family history by way of the build materials it uses. The Paoletti family once produced Chianti red wine in the Tuscany region of Italy, and now, the 130 to 170 year-old chestnut from the wine barrels is being repurposed and used to make beautifully handcrafted instruments.

Italy is the land of good wine, and the use of wooden wine barrels is cyclic and endless. Their company takes care to visit many vineyards and cellars around Italy, recovering the chestnut wood wine barrels that have been retired from wine making. They make sure it is chestnut, since they now have experience in working with it and they know how to express the best of its qualities.

THE LEONARDO 500 PROJECT

A while ago, Paoletti Guitars had the honor and the opportunity to recover a really special barrel very close to their location. Just 21 miles away from Florence, there is Vinci land it is known to have been the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci. It is located on the slopes of Montalbano, a hilly massif rich in vineyards and olive groves.

Paoletti went to a cellar very close to the birthplace of Da Vinci, and discovered wine barrels that are recognized as part of the property of the Da Vinci family. As you may know, there is also an official wine cellar in Vinci that produces wine using the ancient method discovered by Leonardo.

Leonardo was a painter, inventor, scientist and also an expert in wine. From the Vinci countryside, during many trips, to the courts of the powerful, wine is a recurring passion. Leonardo studied the cultivation of vines: he was a brilliant agronomist and oenologist who gives precise instructions and revolutionary advice for the vineyard and the cellar. After recovering this very special chestnut wood with many many years of history and an age that could be approximated to over 200 years, Mr. Paoletti had an ingenious vision, he wanted to create Paoletti Guitars using this very special wood. Placing this wood on the top of a guitar, he had the inspiration to make a drawing starting from the city of Florence, and like a road, moving towards the ancient values expressed by Leonardo Da Vinci during his life.

The series "I Nodi" (The Knots), is the second run of guitars made from this very limited wood. The Vinci, i.e. the knots invented by Leonardo Da Vinci, are named after the purple willows typical of this artist’s city. Maybe the knots – which later became the symbol of the Da Vinci Academia, too – had their origin in the costume of weaving baskets out of the pliable twigs of these trees, or in their use for binding vines.

https://www.paolettiguitars.com/product/i-nodi-leonardodavinci/

"It's a great emotion to give a new life to our ancient chestnut, it is like painting a memory of it that lasts in a guitar, ready to bring you years of high quality playing."
~ Fabrizio Paoletti - Master Builder