Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza (1765-1770)

Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza (1738–1803) ranks among the most important representatives of the eighteenth-century Milanese school of violin making. He was probably a pupil of Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi and ran a workshop in Milan that was known not only for building new instruments but also for the restoration and modernisation of historical violins. His sons Francesco and Carlo later worked alongside him in the workshop and carried it on after his death. Mantegazza's instruments frequently follow the grand Amati model and are distinguished by careful workmanship, characteristically flat archings, a resin-rich red to dark-orange varnish and outstanding tonal qualities. Today his violins, violas and cellos count among the most important works of historical Milanese violin making and are prized by musicians and collectors alike.