Born in Chiavari in 1883, Giuseppe Castagnino learned the rudiments of woodworking in his father's workshop, a carpenter and cooper who also made musical instruments for passion. In 1911, through Cesare Candi, he was introduced to Giuseppe Fiorini, who welcomed him to work in his workshop in Munich for a short period in 1913. The influence of the master on the young luthier could not therefore be very deep, but he bequeathed some making techniques that contrast with the Genoese school of the twentieth century: for instance the use of the internal mould, and of the C-bouts linings inserted into the corner blocks.
For the rest, his style remained highly personal throughout his career (Castagnino died in 1966), during which this maker showed a strong preference for the Guarneri del Gesù models; his F-holes are usually rather elongated but not angular, and on the back the button is also elongated, a typically Genoese trait. The scroll model is a personal interpretation of Guarneri and has a swollen development in the upper and back part of the volute, which usually has a chamfer evidenced with black ink.
