The Bergonzi family was an illustrious group of luthiers in Cremona, Italy, a city that has a rich tradition of stringed instrument makers. A luthier is someone who builds or repairs stringed instruments, ranging from guitars to violins. ... Cremona is a city in Northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left shore of the Po river in the middle of the Pianura padana (Po valley). ...

The first and most famous luthier of the family was Carlo Bergonzi (1683-1747). The Italian singer Carlo Bergonzi (born 13 July 1924) is one of the most admired tenors of the post-war period. ... Events June 6 - The Ashmolean Museum opens as the worlds first university museum. ... // Events January 31 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital April 9 - The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat was beheaded by axe on Tower Hill, London, for high treason; he was the last man to be executed in this way in Britain May 14 - First battle of Cape...

Carlo Bergonzi was born in Cremona. He apprenticed under Hieronymus Amati, collaborated with Joseph Guarneri, and is considered the greatest pupil of Antonio Stradivari. Amati is the name of a family of Italian violin-makers, who flourished at Cremona from about 1550 to 1740. ... Guarneri is the family name of a group of highly acclaimed violin makers (luthiers) from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families. ... Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument, in a Romantic 19th-century print. ...

Bergonzi's father and mother lived next door to Stradivari in the Piazza San Domenico in Cremona. Carlo apprenticed under Stradivari and eventually was given all of Stradivari’s repair business. Since his repair services were in high demand, Carlo was not able to devote enough time to producing many of his own instruments.

As a great luthier, he is considered next only to his three teachers, who are considered to be among the very greatest of all time.

The violins that he constructed were based on the designs of Stradivari and Guarneri.

One of the most famous of Carlo's violins is known as the Kreisler Bergonzi, named after violinst Fritz Kreisler. At one time it was also owned by violinist Itzhak Perlman. Both Kreisler and Perlman performed and recorded with it. The Kreisler Bergonzi is a famous violin made by the renown Italian luthier Carlo Bergonzi in 1740. ... Fritz Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian violinist and composer, one of the most famous of his day. ... Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (born August 31, 1945) (in Jaffa, now part of Tel Aviv) is an Israeli violinist and teacher. ...

Carlo Bergonzi's labels vary, but are typically as follows:

Anno 1733, Carlo Bergonzi

fece in Cremona

It is known that many instruments that bear his label are not authentic.