Eko Before EkoBack in the fifties Italian guitar making industry was mainly located at both ends of the country. In the North, pioneering novel solutions and non-conventional designs was a sort of tradition, already illustrated in the 30’s by Mario Maccaferri and later by Meazzi and Wandré.

In the South, especially Sicily, many craftsmen built all sorts of classical and ethnic instruments, ranging from violins and mandolins to guitars and banjos. The most famous business was founded by Carmelo Catania in the homonymous city.

In the late fifties both Wandré and Catania already produced electric guitars. But within a couple of years the scene completely changed. A small region of Eastern Central Italy that has no history at all in stringed instruments suddenly emerged as the main Italian guitar district and was to quickly become one of the world’s largest.

A man was the catalyst of that unexpected evolution: Oliviero Pigini, founder of the Eko company