Matteo Goffriller, Venetian luthier

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Matteo Goffriller (c. 1659–1742) was a founder of the Venetian school of violin making and ranks among the most celebrated cello makers in history. Active in Venice from the late seventeenth century onward, Goffriller crafted instruments renowned for their powerful, resonant tone. His work helped establish the reputation of Venetian lutherie as a significant tradition alongside the better-known Cremonese school dominated by the Stradivari family.

For much of the intervening centuries, attribution errors obscured Goffriller's legacy. Many of his cellos were incorrectly attributed to more prominent makers, a confusion that only later scholarship corrected. The restoration of his name to these instruments serves as an important reminder of how fluid and subject to revision attribution can be in the rare-instrument world, particularly when competing makers worked in nearby regions during overlapping periods.

Today, Goffriller cellos command significant regard among professional musicians and institutions. Major soloists perform on his surviving instruments, and his work continues to be studied as evidence of Venetian craftsmanship excellence. His career demonstrates that the golden age of Italian string-instrument making extended well beyond Cremona, with Venice producing makers whose contributions shaped the sound and construction methods that defined the instrument-making tradition across centuries.

Sources: Tarisio — Cozio Archive of stringed instruments; Library of Congress — Stradivari instruments / Whittall Collection; W. Henry Hill, Arthur F. Hill & Alfred E. Hill — 'Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work (1644–1737)'; The Metropolitan Museum of Art — musical instruments collection. Educational information only — not financial, investment, or appraisal advice. See our sources & fact-check policy.

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