Reference Library Makers

B.1581, d.1632, Brescia.

Pupil and successor to Gaspar da Salo, he devoted more time to the violin family, producing considerable numbers of violins, violas, cellos and basses. Although his violins can be slightly oversize and unwieldy, he also began making violas on a smaller, more manageable size, which have proved supremely successful. Many have doubled purfling and decorative purfling embellishments on the back. A victim of the plague in 1632, his workshop does seem to have continued for some time after his death, but it is not yet known how the business was managed.