Born in Montiglio in 1865, Annibale Fagnola began to take an interest in violin making during his youth, but it is not known by whom he was initiated into the profession, although we do know that he made some guitars before moving on to bowed instruments. He arrived in Turin in 1894 and he came into contact with Marengo Rinaldi with whom he probably began to collaborate. In the following years he was also influenced by Carlo Giuseppe Oddone, but after the instruments of the first period Fagnola's style quickly took on a strong personality, for instance in the rather decisive and robust corners and scrolls, the thin and precisely inlaid purfling.
Fagnola specialized in making Piedmontese models, following the example of Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, Giuseppe Rocca and Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. The high level of his craftsmanship, the choice of materials, the beautiful soft varnish of an intense red color, earned him the esteem of musicians, dealers and collectors at an international level. For this reason he already enjoyed considerable success and a certain economic wealth during his lifetime.
