When 
I first started at Moennig’s, Dario would come down from New York and do appraisals once a week at the shop. After work – with the aid of a little scotch – he would expand about his life, the violin world and his intimate knowledge of Italian violins and their makers. His was a fascinating story of training as a maker in Italy – then coming to New York to work at the famed Wurlitzer shop, where he worked with the great restorer/maker Simone Sacconi and where he was immersed in probably the finest collection of string instruments to be seen in the 1960’s – 70’s.
To hear him talk of Sgarabotto ,Scarampella ,Saninno and all the other 20th century Italian makers was a treat – he had the insight of a maker – the eye of a connoisseur and plenty of Italian-ness to make you feel that the bore a spark from some sacred fire.
One memorable insight that he shared was the ruggedness of Scarampella’s scrolls was due to the fact that Scacrampella carved his scrolls while fishing and only brought along 3 gouges with which to work – a fact borne out by the fact that his protogee/sucessor Gaetano Gadda is often detected when working under his master’s name by the fact that his scrolls are too neatly carved – lacking the charm and roughness of his more esteemed master
Here he pictured with William Moennig Jr and William Moennig III no doubt admiring a fine Cremonese violin probably in the mid to late 1970’s
