Pietro Castrucci was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

Castrucci was born in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, where he studied with Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...

; in 1715, he settled in London, where he became known as one of the finest virtuoso violinists of his generation. By 1718 he had become leader of the opera orchestra of George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...

, a position which he held until 1737, when he was succeeded by the younger John Clegg

John Clegg (violinist)

John Clegg was an Irish violinist who became one of the most celebrated soloists of his time in both Dublin and London. In 1737 he was chosen by the composer George Frideric Handel to succeed the Italian violinist Pietro Castrucci as leader of his opera orchestra in London...

. In 1739 he became one of the first beneficiaries of the Royal Society of Musicians

Royal Society of Musicians

The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the "Fund for Decay'd Musicians" by a declaration of trust signed by 228 musicians, including Edward Purcell ,...

 and was little heard of thereafter, apart from an erroneous report of his death in 1746. After a benefit concert in Dublin in 1750, he died there of malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 in 1752. Despite being by then a pauper, he was buried with full ceremony in St. Mary's Church, Dublin

St. Mary's Church, Dublin

St. Mary's Church, Dublin is a former Church of Ireland building in Mary Street, Dublin.-The Church:Dating from the 17th century, the building was designed by Sir William Robinson, and is notable as the first Dublin church to be built with galleries....

.

Castrucci was the inventor of the 'violetta marina', which was a variation of the viola d'amore

Viola d'amore

The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...

. Handel wrote obbligati for this instrument.