The Sexy Sounds of History

Ask any traveler and they will tell you that Italy is on their short list for travel. Who doesn’t dream about seeing the canals of Venice, the cliffs of Cinque Terre, the art of Florence, and the ancient ruins in Rome? But Italy has other places to visit too; places that aren’t overcrowded by tourists where music fills the air and craftsmanship oozes from every nook.

Most tourists stay in the larger cities of Milan or Bologna. They may even take day trips to prime tour hotspots like Lake Como, Parma Ham or Cheese, Modena Balsamic Vinegar, the Ferrari Factory, Venice or Florence. But, right between these bigger cities is a sexy little city that flies under the radar of average tourists. Located on the Po River, about an hour southeast of Milan and an hour northwest of Bologna is Cremona (map) which was founded by the Romans in 218 BC. Like other Italian towns, Cremona has magnificent cathedrals, bell towers, and palaces. But Cremona hums with music that will transport you back in time, 200, 400, or even 1000 years ago, to the birthplace of violins.

You don’t have to know anything about music to remember the names Nicolo Amati or Antonio Stradivari. But you might need a hint that Antonio was a pupil of Nicolo Amati when he began adjusting the details of violin making. The result was a sound from heaven and Cremona was the place where the magic began. From 1600-1800 the art of violin making was at a pinnacle and Cremona was and still is world-renowned for their hand-carved Italian violins. Located in Piazza Marconi music comes alive in the violin museum, the violin school, and a special auditorium for violin performances from some of the finest virtuosos.

When we visited Cremona, we toured the Museo de Violino. This museum guided us from the origin of the violin to musical competitions, through the violin makers craft shop and into the shadowed gallery of historical violins, violas, cellos and double basses crafted by renowned luthiers. We marveled at the history of Stradivari and his hand-tools which took the craftsmanship of violins to a new height of musical pleasure. We also admired the priceless instruments encased in security glass, which were hundreds of years old but are still tuned and played today. Wander through the museum yourself, right now in this virtual tour Fondazione Stradivari – Museo del Violino » Suggested itinerary

Now, imagine our surprise when we were at home scrolling through the local news and the next headline said Cremona, Italy preserves centuries-old craft at the birthplace of the violin | king5.com. Sure enough, it was the very sexy city we had visited ourselves. Stunning in history, remarkable in craftmanship, and delightful to the soul.

When we finished learning about the craftsmanship of violins and the handcrafted skill still used by violin makers, new master ateliers, luthiers and student-teachers, we went to the auditorium. With the add-on ticket of 12€, we sat in a specially designed auditorium with about 20 other guests for a one-of-a-kind extraordinary performance (~30minutes). Played by the master violinist of the day we listened to the soul-stirring sounds of Violino ‘Clisbee’ created by Antonio Stratevari in 1669. YOU can listen to that very same instrument played by a different musician by clicking this link on YouTube.

If you visit Cremona, wander the town to see the current violin maker shops and please visit the Museo del Violino:

Admission prices (March 2026)

single tickets
full price: Euro 14,00
reduced price: Euro 11,00

children under 11 years: free

recitals on historical instruments from the MdV collections (~30 minutes)
full price adults: Euro 12,00

children up to 10 years 6,00