Born around 1730, it is believed that the earliest violin-maker of the Mantegazza family may have trained in Milan under the guidance of Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi, although there are not many stylistic elements that connect the two. The pattern of the F -holes by Pietro Giovanni is inspired by the style of the Amatis, with wide, not very tapered stems and small wings. The body model is wider, and more influenced by the instruments of Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, who had been active in Milan in the previous decades. Compared to Landolfi, the peg box is less straight and more hollowed out at the throat, and Mantegazza's volute is usually compact and carved quite deeply.
After the break between Guadagnini and Count Cozio di Salabue, the Mantegazza family took over from the former as the trusted workshop of the Piedmontese nobleman, for which they carried out many restoration and "modernization" works on classical instruments. Three sons of Pietro Giovanni joined him in his workshop: Antonio, Francesco and Carlo. The latter two are often remembered as "Fratelli Mantegazza" by Cozio, who continued to turn to their services even after the death of their father in 1803.
