Raffaele Fiorini

Violin maker
(1828 – 1898)

Generally considered the father of the modern Emilia-Romagna school, Raffaele Fiorini developed an interest in violin making around 1847 and moved to Bologna to open his own shop in 1867. Fiorini's workshop became an important starting place for a number of distinguished Bolognese makers, including Augusto Pollastri, Oreste ...Read More and Cesare Candi, Armando Monterumici, and Raffaele's own son Giuseppe Fiorini.

While Fiorini preferred classical Cremonese models, his use of a construction method based on the external form set him apart from his Italian predecessors and drew him closer to French methods. Other features of his personal interpretation include deep and narrow channeling for the purfling and reddish-brown varnish over a golden ground. Many of the more distinctive characteristics of Fiorini's style and methodology are apparent in the work of later Emilian makers. Read Less