CREMONA AND THE EUROPEAN NIGHT OF MUSEUMS


Speaking about Cremona means focuses on its unique aspects, on that particular and peculiar “atmosphere” that you can breath in the town and that makes it obviously special, magic and famous all over the world. This is all about its violin-making tradition!
Along the centuries, in fact, the violin-making tradition has deeply influenced the town’s characteristics and defined its identity.
The violin-making tradition was born in Cremona in the 16th Century with the family Amati and, then, it has better developed with Guarneri and, in the 18th century, with the great master Antonio Stradivari.
But, even today, Cremona hosts more or less 150 violin-making workshops and it triggers a fruitful activity in this sector that is carried out by several institutions and public bodies.
In order to complete this varied but comprehensive context, two other initiatives will be launched to make the year 2013 special for Cremona: the official opening, in May 2013, of the Violin’s Museum and the accreditation in the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage UNESCO.
The Museum, hosted in the prestigious and well-located Palazzo dell’Arte in Cremona (a great example of the 20th century architecture), has been restored thanks to the contribution of the Foundation Arvedi Buschini and it will get together, for the first time in a single seat, the historic strings’ collection, the Stradivari Museum’s collection and, then, all the instruments that have won, since 1970, the triennial strings competition.
Thanks to this new instruments’ layout, based on innovative technological solutions and on the use of interactive means, it will be presented the history of Cremona’s violin-making tradition from the origins of the important families of violin-makers to the contemporary state-of-art, in connection with the history of the town.
In the new Violin’s Museum there is the Auditorium Giovanni Arvedi, great and unique result of a modern and forward-looking project coordinated by the architects Giorgio Palù and Michele Bianchi and supported by the contribution, from the acoustic point of view, of one of the best experts of the sector, the engineer Yasuhisa Toyota. This museum helps to reaffirm and enhance, at international level, the role played by Cremona as capital city of music and violin-making tradition.
Speaking about the accreditation in the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage UNESCO, we can not forget that the intangible heritage is made of knowledge and culture and that it has remained exactly the same, century after century.
Cremona is part of this kind of intangible heritage as it is the undisputed capital-city of the violin-making tradition: this characteristic has been recognized by Unesco that decided to enter the violin-making tradition in the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The entire town, with its institutions and citizens has been involved in the project.
On these basis, the Muncipality has organized several events, like the 9th edition of The European Night of Museums (18th of May - dedicated to UNESCO award) and the exhibition “8 Variations for Stradivari – Fashion and contemporary art celebrate Cremona violin-making tradition”, organized in Sala delle Colonne at the Civic Museum in Cremona (from the 19th of May to the 29th of September 2013).
“8 Variations for Stradivari” represents an original and important tribute that 8 artistis of the fashion, design and contemporary art world decided to pay to Cremona’s violin-making tradition and music.
These eight artists, in a very enthusiastic way, have expressed their creativity making impressive works all inspired to strings, to their shapes and their soul. These masterpieces are unique, unique as each single violin and as the “voice” it can produce.
The exhibition’s opening ceremony will take place on the 18th of May when several Italian and European museums will celebrate the European Night of Museums. The exhibition, then, will finish in September, the month that Cremona tradionally dedicates to its violin-making tradition through exhibitions, concerts and seminars and that will be concluded by Cremona Mondomusica – International exhibition of musical handcrafted instruments.

 Irene Nicoletta De Bona

Culture and Tourism Councillor
Cremona Municipality

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