Ugo Casalonga, artisan luthier, welcomes you to his workshop, located near the Pigna auditorium. He designs and builds stringed instruments with care and passion, each one a unique piece.
A place of musical treasures, featuring families of instruments present in Western Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, such as 4 and 6-course cistres (Italian, French or English), the pandora, the orpharion, the ceterone, as well as plucked and bowed string instruments from the medieval period, including the citole, the guiterne and bowed hurdy-gurdies, not to mention a marvelous harpsichord.

The company's craftsmanship is in keeping with the tradition of violin making, favoring the use of high-quality local woods such as walnut, rowan, cypress, boxwood, cherry, locust, ash and pear, as well as imported woods such as Jura spruce, Jura maple, rosewood and ebony. His instruments are made with meticulous care, ensuring that the wood is naturally dried, controlling humidity, using mainly hot-melt glue for assembly and applying a shellac-based varnish or, for the finish, walnut oil and beeswax.

When he creates an instrument for a musician, he engages in joint reflection to ensure that the instrument meets the individual's wishes as closely as possible, especially when it's a design model or a highly personalized creation.

"When I was 16, I was desperate for a Cetera, but no one was making them anymore... I couldn't afford the services of a professional, so I had the crazy idea of making one myself! And so it all began..."
- Ugo

Ugo Casalonga founded the luthier's house "A Casa Liutaiu" with the ambition of reviving forgotten instruments, in particular the Cetera, the emblematic Corsican cistre.

For over 35 years, Ugo Casalonga has combined art and craftsmanship to create instruments with a strong personality. In his workshop in Pigna, Balagne, he creates and crafts stringed instruments, where each piece is authentic. His refined know-how has led him to work for some of the most demanding musicians.

"I'm interested in traditional Corsican musical instruments. Studying instruments from the cistre family and from the Middle Ages is a daily research task that is very enriching for the evolution of my work, as are my encounters with musicians from different horizons. I draw my inspiration from my workshop, built of adobe with terracotta vaults, which has two work areas: one for machinery and construction, the other for display and welcoming musicians."
Each instrument is made entirely in-house and in the traditional way, with all the attention necessary to satisfy the demands of his customers.

Natural wood drying, humidity control, hot-melt gluing. Shellac-based varnish, finished with organic walnut oil.