The piano was invented in the early eighteenth century by Bartolomeo Cristofori of Florence, Italy. Cristofori’s job was to design and maintain the keyboard instruments used in the court of Prince Ferdinand de’ Medici. John Brent of Philadelphia built the first piano in the United States in 1774. | Piano Visual by Mary Sue Taylor and Tere Stouffer WILEY Wiley Publishing Inc. TeachYourself VJSUALLY .