He was born in Florence in 1955. After studying at the Faculty of Architecture in Florence, he began working in violin making under the guidance of Maestri Roberto Ignesti and Igino Sderci in 1979. He builds violins, violas and cellos based on the classical 18^(th)-century models of the Cremonese school, using the original patterns employed by Maestro Carlo Bisiach and sourced from Igino Sderci's workshop. He uses a red-orange varnish for which the recipe was discovered in letters exchanged between the Bisiach brothers and Igino Sderci during their collaboration from 1920 to 1950.
To date, he has built eighty instruments, including some baroque copies of originals, which are played in various orchestras and by soloists around the world.
The Accademia Gallery Museum in Florence recently commissioned him to carry out the scientific cataloguing of its famous collection of bowed string instruments belonging to the Medici-Lorraine court. This includes the tenor viola and cello that were part of the quintet built by Antonio Stradivari in 1690 for Ferdinando de' Medici, as well as other instruments by leading Italian masters from the 17^(th) and 18^(th) centuries.
He also specialises in instrument restoration and setup. He lives and works in Florence.
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