Virginia Villa

Director of the Violin Museum “Antonio Stradivari” Foundation in Cremona

The bond between Cremona and the production of string instruments is ancient and unbreakable. The Violin Museum (MdV) adds a new and wonderful chapter to the story that, thanks to the generous contribution of the Arvedi Buschini Foundation, gives the international community an important and internationally unique facility that combines the functions of museum, auditorium and research hub.

At MdV you can discover five centuries of the Cremona tradition of lutherie through direct contact with the grand Masters and their instruments, including the founder Andrea Amati, his sons Antonio and Girolamo, his nephew Nicolò, Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù” (of Jesus) and his family, Francesco Rugeri and Lorenzo Storioni.

With the donation of the collections from the Municipality of Cremona and the “Walter Stauffer” Foundation, the masterpieces entrusted to the town as part of the “Friends of Stradivari” and the original moulds and tools donated by Giuseppe Fiorini, there is currently no other museum in Europe which houses such an important and complete collection of Cremona stringed instruments. The story of the eighteen and nineteen hundreds is told through instruments crafted by the most renowned Italian luthiers and winning pieces from the International Triennial Competition, and the museum is also home to dedicated spaces paying homage to the modern masters.

Multimedia installations and extensive documentary equipment enable people of all ages and backgrounds - from children to tourists to experienced visitors - to go on an evocative and interactive journey where instruments, smells, sounds and images give life to history, dreams and emotions. This is the unique and wonderful outcome of a daring and modern project. Coordinated by the architects Palù and Bianchi and supported by the contribution of engineer Yasuhisa Toyota to optimise the acoustics, the Auditorium reaffirms and celebrates the role of Cremona as the international capital of violins and music.

Heritage

An award to museums/collections open to the public and dedicated, all or in part, to excellent works of craftsmanship