Born in Pieve di Cento in 1902, Anselmo Gotti was the son of the luthier Orsolo, and in 1922 he was sent by his father to perfect his skills in Ferrara with Ettore Soffritti, who already enjoyed considerable fame at the time. There he was also able to learn the rudiments of restoration and a few years later he was in fact called in this capacity by Anton Wittmann in Vienna. After Soffritti's death, in 1928 Gotti took care of completing some of the instruments left unfinished by his master, and the same happened a few years later with Armando Monterumici's workshop. Anselmo was also active as a musician, playing the double bass and plucked instruments; he died in Ferrara in 1962.
The style of his work is rather close to that of Ettore Soffritti; we find the typical Ferrarese edge-work that surrounds the purfling at a short distance like a small ribbon; the corners are usually long and open; the purfling is quite thick and positioned close to the edge. The head, similarly to all the details of the workmanship, has a soft and rounded finish; from the front view the volute is wide and concave.
