Son of Nicola Gagliano and grandson of Alessandro, Ferdinando has traditionally been believed to have been most influenced by his uncle, Gennaro. Similarly to his ancestors, Ferdinando's style is also closely related to Cremonese violin making both in his models and arching, while the materials he used vary from fine woods of foreign origin (for maple) and Alpine spruce to simpler and locally sourced qualities.
His violins usually have a compact length of the sound box but, being wide in a transversal sense and with efficient curvatures from an acoustic point of view, they are greatly appreciated for their sound. The model often has a characteristic swelling near the corners and the materials are also typical for this school: spruce for the blocks and beech for the linings, a wood that is also used for the white part of the purfling, usually glued between two strips of black paper. He also made cellos, viola d'amore and violas of small size but always of generous widths.
