Family of Italian violin makers in Cremona in the 16th and 17th centuries. Andrea ( 1520- 1578) set the form of the modern violin. His two sons Antonio ( 1550-1638) and Girolamo (1561-1630) worked together and were known as the brothers Amati. Girolamo's son Nicolò (1596-1684), who like his forebears worked in Cremona, is regarded as the family's finest craftsman. Among his famous pupils were Andrea Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari; Nicolò was succeeded by his son Girolamo (1649-1740). The great contribution of the Amatis to the development of the violin was their evolution of the flat, shallow model, which, as improved by Stradivari, is capable of producing a brilliant soprano tone