Where does the mandolin come from?

The mandolin evolved in Italy from earlier lutes, with the gittern and the mandore or mandola named as predecessors. The Neapolitan mandolin, tuned like a violin and played with a pick, was developed in Naples around 1750; its bent soundboard probably derived from the chitarra battente. The Vinaccia family of Naples made sought-after mandolins in the 18th century.