Born in 1912, Cesare Castelli approached the violin as a musician and began making his first instruments as a self-taught craftsman. Around 1940, he met Costantino Celani, visiting his workshop and attending a course in violin making that Celani held in Ascoli Piceno. Once established as a professional luthier, Castelli was very productive during his long career, making around 300 instruments.
Although he was in contact with 20th-century masters such as Giuseppe Ornati, his style remained strongly anchored to the taste of the Marche region, and above all to Celani. In particular, the scroll and sound holes are influenced by local tradition, while in general the level of precision and finish are superior to most of his predecessors from the Marche school. The purfling is usually light and positioned close to the edge; the varnish is orange in color and the choice of maple is often original in its figuration and makes use of native woods.
