I start the day with orange juice, two kiwi fruits, vitamins, weak coffee with milk and biscuits, before driving in my green BMW 530 to the factory. Building the best piano I possibly can: that is my passion, my life's work.

I started studying piano late, but I obtained the diploma in piano from the Conservatorio di Pesaro. I had a facility in mathematics and physics too - and an engineering degree. And because my father was in the furniture and wood industry, it seemed obvious to me what my career must be. I knew there was a gap in the market, for as a pianist I had never found a piano I was happy with. I saw I must build my own, and I knew that if I built a piano that pleased me, it would sell. So I started from scratch. I rebuilt that piano 17 times before I was happy.

The perfect piano sound should have the correct proportions of great neoclassical architecture.

Now I have my own factory, I do as I please. I spend eight hours a day in the workshop, and if I see a change that needs to be made, I can make it straight away. With the big firms, to make even a small change can take years of meetings and discussion.

Each piano is born, like a human being, with its own unique character. It is the combination of good materials and good construction that gives the best results. First we choose the wood for the sounding board, the heart of the piano - the flat board which lies under the strings. For this we use the red spruce, sometimes called 'the tree of music'. I like to choose the trees myself, in the Val di Fiemme forest. These are 150-year-old trees, descended from the ones Stradivarius used for his violins, and only one in 200 will have the natural resonance I am looking for. In this spruce, the sound wave travels at 6,000 metres a second; because the grain is straight, there are no faults.

It will take two years for that tree to become a piano. But first the wood must rest for up to a year, so that any tension in it disappears. A piano's case, too, is important. Because of the great tension created by the strings, it must be very solid, with 8 to 10 layers glued together. Eleven different woods are used on a piano: spruce, hornbeam, beech, mahogany, larch, boxwood, maple, poplar, walnut, baya and ebony. Then there is the iron frame - the iron and wood work against each other with a beauty that is fundamental. A piano has thousands of working parts and the strings must be able to bear 20 tonnes of tension. Then there are 88 keys to be balanced, the hammers to be 'voiced' and the strings tuned.

The workshop has its own aroma of camphor, glue and sawdust. My 35 workers take hours over each detail, like spinning copper round steel for the strings. A machine could do this in minutes, but when they do it by hand I know the result will be perfect. Last year we made about 90 pianos - our best since we started in 1980, but 120 would be our maximum. Quality is my only interest.

My staff go home for lunch with their families. They are important to me. We are like a family. One boy came to us straight from jail. People questioned why I brought him in. But now he is 25 and he is getting better and better. I see him and I am happy. Sometimes, when we have made a special piano, perhaps with a beautiful inlaid case, my workers ask me if they can invite their friends in to look at it. So on Sundays the factory is open to their friends and families. Maybe 100 to 150 people will come. I hand them the key and leave them to it.

Sadly, I don't practise so much now. I tell myself, 'One hour a day each day,' but there is always something else to be done. Many famous pianists have visited the factory. I was amused by one lady, a famous Italian pianist, who was trying one of our concert grands. She was satisfied with the sound and action, but something was really upsetting her. 'I don't know what it is,' she said, 'but it is not working.' All the time, she was moving to the left of the keyboard; I was looking and listening but couldn't find anything strange. And then I realised - one of our workers had made a mistake applying the name Fazioli above the keys. It was five centimetres too far to the left, and this was enough to disturb the feeling of the pianist.

Now our pianos are used in major concert halls and recording studios. We have built a small auditorium for pianists to compare instruments, and a suite to stay in while they choose.

In the evening my colleagues and I often eat out. I like simple food: spaghetti alla carbonara, or with basil sauce. Even though I go to bed very late, I always read. My favourite is Italo Calvino. I sleep well. Because, you know, when you have such an intensive day, then you sleep like logs.