A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Ruggieri

by Edward John Payne

RUGGIERI, the name of a celebrated family of violin-makers, who flourished at Cremona and Brescia. The eldest was Francesco, commonly known as 'Ruggieri il Per' (the father), whose instruments date from 1668 to 1720 or thereabouts. John Baptist (1700–1725) and Peter (1700–1720), who form the second generation of the family, were probably his sons; and John Baptist (called 'il buono'), who was indisputably the best maker in the family, claims to have been a pupil of Nicholas Amati. Besides these, we hear of Guido and Vincenzo Ruggieri, both of Cremona, early in the eighteenth century. The instruments of the Ruggieri, though differing widely among themselves, bear a general resemblance to those of the Amati family. They rank high among the works of the second-rate makers, and are often passed off as Amatis.

[ E. J. P. ]