The waning of the era of lute player in the early 18th century coincided with the rise of the smallest member of the lute family, the soprano lute, also known as the mandolin, mandola or leutino in Southern Italy, especially in Naples, the city of music. In the following decades, the city of Naples, with it's famous conservatories, saw the birth of a number of compositions for mandolin. Many distinguished composers set out to discover the new possibilities this instrument offered.