Maker Background
Born in Cremona in 1862, Romeo Antoniazzi belonged to the family that stands at the root of modern Lombard violin making. He moved to Milan as a boy with his father Gaetano and spent his career there, working alongside the city's leading workshops and training a new generation of makers.
Romeo was the younger son of Gaetano Antoniazzi (1825–1897), the Cremonese maker whose links to the Ceruti family made him the bridge between the old Cremonese tradition and the new Milanese school. Romeo learned the craft from his father and in 1870 followed him from Cremona to Milan, together with his elder brother Riccardo (1853–1912).
His career followed the work wherever it was. He started out beside his father and brother, then moved between periods on his own account and spells working with Riccardo, for Leandro Bisiach, for Monzino and for the Barlassina firm. The partnership between the Antoniazzis and Bisiach, from around 1886, helped make Milan one of the great violin-making centres of the modern era.
His finest instruments date from before the end of the 19th century; the ones met most often today were made for Barlassina and Monzino. His work carries a strongly personal hand, and he drew on models after Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati. He took part in the Milan exhibition of 1906 and, like his father and brother, taught a number of pupils. He died in Milan in 1925.
