Antonio Stradivari

c. 1644 – 18 December 1737

Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier from Cremona, universally regarded as the greatest violin maker in history. Over a career of more than seventy years he crafted over a thousand instruments, and surviving Stradivarius violins, violas and cellos remain the most prized string instruments in the world.

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Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Antonio Stradivari.

Life events

Born in or near Cremona, Italy
c. 1644

Antonio Stradivari was born around 1644; the exact date and place of his birth are not documented.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Reputedly apprenticed to Nicola Amati
c. 1660

Stradivari is traditionally said to have trained in the workshop of Nicola Amati, based on an early label reading 'alumnus Nicolai Amati', though the apprenticeship is not securely documented.

Education ?
Produced his earliest known labelled violin
1666

The earliest surviving instrument bearing Stradivari's own label dates from 1666, marking the start of his independent output in Cremona.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Married Francesca Ferraboschi
4 July 1667

Stradivari married Francesca Ferraboschi on 4 July 1667; the couple had six children before her death in 1698.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Acquired the house and workshop at Piazza San Domenico in Cremona
1680

In 1680 Stradivari purchased the house in Piazza San Domenico where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Developed the elongated 'Long Pattern' violin design
c. 1690 – c. 1699

During the 1690s Stradivari experimented with a longer violin model before returning to and perfecting the classical proportions.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Married his second wife, Antonia Zambelli
24 August 1699

Following the death of his first wife, Stradivari married Antonia Maria Zambelli in 1699, with whom he had five more children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Golden period of instrument making
c. 1700 – c. 1720

Between roughly 1700 and 1720 Stradivari produced his finest instruments, including the 'Messiah' violin of 1716, which set the standard for violin making ever since.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in Cremona
18 December 1737

Antonio Stradivari died on 18 December 1737 in Cremona and was buried in the Basilica of San Domenico.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓