Born in 1659 in Bressanone, Matteo Goffriller might have come into contact with Matthias Albani in Bolzano during his youth, and later on also with the members of the Seelos family in Linz, where he spent a few years. Arriving in Venice in 1685, he could rely on familiarity connections with the Kaiser family, in particular Martin, with whom Goffriller had a working relationship and whose sister he finally married, thus being fully included in the large community of Germanic luthiers active in Venice. His workshop soon acquired a dominant position in the city for the quality of his instruments and also because of a remarkable productivity, made possible by the assistance, in addition to his son Francesco, of several apprentices.
The typical model by Goffriller finds inspiration in the Amatis, even if usually the upper part is proportionally longer and wider; the same characteristic is found to an even clearer extent in his cellos, the instruments for which this maker is certainly best known today. The F-holes have a rather close and central placement on the top, and the stems are quite parallel to the junction. Goffriller's scrolls are also very personal: the peg-box is curved and the throat is very deep; the volute is flattened horizontally and seems to protrude outwards. As with many Venetian makers, the high-quality varnish is often of a rich red color.
