Leandro Bisiach

Leandro Bisiach (16 June 1864 – 1 December 1945) was an Italian violin maker, who was born in Casale Monferrato and died in 1945 in Venegono Superiore near Varese.

After having moved his workshop to various premises, he retired to his villa in Venegono leaving his sons Andrea and Carlo Bisiach to continue the business in Milan.

Leandro Bisiach did a great deal of research and found some old recipes, which he used to create antiqued varnishes for the numerous copies he made.

The inlay has a large central white strip and two very narrow black threads, short and slightly closed corners, an echo of the Stradivarian style.

- Pardo Fornaciari, Arte Liuteria Musicians who owned Leandro's instruments included American violinists Sebastian Campesi and Nathan Milstein.

"The baron Andrea Paganini, grandson of the famous Niccolo, wrote a letter of thanks to Bisiach in 1839 for the repair in admirable style of his Stradivarius.

Other clients included Sarasate, Joachim, and violoncellist Alfredo Piatti, who trusted his violoncello (a Stradivarius, from which Bisiach made a reproduction) to no one else.

By one of those tricks of fortune that make one suspect the hand of destiny, Leandro senior had come into possession of tools and models that had belonged to the various old Cremonese masters.

In reality, he had much greater luck; among the documents and papers obtained by Fanny Rossi, the widow of Giacomo Stradivari (1822-1901), Bisiach found the most precious and extraordinary item imaginable, that is, the formula for the varnish of the great Antonio Stradivarius from 1704.