Born in Lendinara in 1687, Domenico Montagnana arrived in Venice around 1701, starting to collaborate with the main shops of the city, certainly including that of Matteo Sellas. About ten years later, Montagnana opened his own independent business in the street that would long remain the center of violin making in town, Calle dei Stagneri, "at the sign of Cremona".
In fact, although Stainer's influence remained very evident in many of Montagnana's instruments, especially during his early period, he was amongst the first luthiers outside Cremona to be deeply influenced by the lesson of the Amatis and also of Antonio Stradivari, with his larger and flatter instruments if compared to the previous tradition. Montagnana cellos are particularly sought after, though his instruments have very little in common with the Cremonese models, being considerably wider and somewhat shorter in their pattern. Similarly to a large part of Venetian works, Montagnana's instruments stand out for the choice of the best quality materials and for their varnish of a rich consistency and a deep red color.
