Chitarrone

CHITARRONE (Ital., augmentative of Chitarra). A theorbo, or double-necked lute of great length, with wire strings and two sets of tuning-pegs, the lower set having twelve, and the higher eight strings attached; the unusual extension in length affording greater development to the bass of the instrument. The Italian chitarra was not strung with catgut like the Spanish guitar, but with wire, like the German cither and the old English cithern. The chitarrone, as implied by the suffix, was a...