A famous Italian violinist and composer, born at Pirano, in Istria; got into trouble over his clandestine marriage with the niece of the archbishop of Padua, and fled for sanctuary to a monastery at Assisi; subsequently reunited to his wife established himself in Padua as a teacher and composer; wrote a "Treatise on Music," and enjoyed a wide celebrity, and still ranks as one of the great violinists of the past (1692-1770).