Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
transept. In the
crypt
, the robed and masked body of Cremona's 12th-century patron saint,
San Omobono Tucenghi, is on show in a glass casket.
CREMONA'S VIOLINS
It was in Cremona that Antonio Stradivari lovingly put together his first Stradivarius violins, helping establish a
tradition that continues today. Other great violin-making dynasties that started here include the Amati and
Guarneri families.
Some 100 violin-making workshops occupy the streets around Piazza del Comune but very few accept casual
visitors. To visit a workshop, you generally need to be looking to buy a violin, but the
Consorcio Liutai Antonio
11am-1pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Sat), which represents the workshops (they have a list of over 100), can sometimes
make appointments for visits. The Consorcio also has a small display of violins.
Various events dedicated to violin-making take place each year, while the
Triennale Internazionale degli
Strumenti ad Arco
(International Stringed Instrument Expo;
www.entetriennale.com
) is held in Cremona every
third year in September/October; the next one is in 2015.
At the time of our visit, Cremona had two museums dedicated to the city's violin-making traditions. The
tp://musei.comune.cremona.it
;
Piazza del Comune 8; adult/reduced €6/4, combined ticket with Museo Civico
€11/6; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun) featured instruments from the Stradivari workshop. North of the old town, the
et with Collezione Gli Archi di Palazzo Comunale €11/6; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun) held drawings and tools, as
well as instruments by Amati and Guarneri. But not long after our visit, the two collections were to be brought to-
037 280 18 01;
www.museo-delviolino.org
;
Piazza Marconi; adult/reduced €10/7;
10am-6pm Tue-Sun). We've had a sneak
preview and it promises to be a world-class museum.
To hear Cremona's violins in action, the season at the 19th-century
Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli
MAP
0372 02 20 01;
www.teatroponchielli.it
; Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 52) runs from October
to June.
Torrazzo
(Piazza del Comune; adult/child €5/4, incl baptistry €6/5; 10am-1pm & 2.30-6pm Tue-Sun Mar-Nov)
The
111m-tall torrazzo (bell tower, although 'torazzo' translates as something like 'great, fat
. It is fronted by a beautiful zodiacal clock, 8m wide and installed in 1583. A total of 502
steps wind up to the top of the tower. The effort is more than repaid with marvellous
views across the city.
TOWER
