16" Antonio Pelizon viola, Gorizia 1814

Italian violin maker Antonio Pelizon (Pellizon) was born in 1763 in the Gorizia province of Italy and died there in 1850. An active center of music, carpentry, and other artisanry since the early 18th century, Gorizia became well represented for violin making, due to the significant work of Pelizon and his four sons: Giuseppe Francesco (1800-1874), Antonio Vincenzo Giuseppe (Antonio II, 1809-1861), Carlo (1811-1891), and Filippo (1817-1897).

Pelizon's instruments show the influence of Stradivari and Amati models incorporated with his own personal characteristics. A highly regarded maker of the Northern Italian school, many of Pelizon's and his sons' instruments are housed in the museum of the Gorizia Castle in Gorizia, Italy.