Luthiery training is available from various institutions in Cremona where you can learn the art of making bowed stringed instruments, take specialist master’s and continuing education courses and participate in competitions.
The ‘Antonio Stradivari’ International Violin Making School is an upper secondary school where luthiers learn the techniques of this ancient craft.
Students at the school study sound and technique and have the opportunity to gain experience and develop their own individual expertise based on their specific skills. Practical activities and projects are always backed up by solid cultural foundations, because only a thorough knowledge of the past and a structured technique will enable newcomers to the profession to explore modern-day possibilities and undertake innovative projects, the fruit of their own intuition and creativity.
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Cr.Forma is a special agency of the Province of Cremona that provides vocational training in luthiery, restoration and the preservation, protection and enhancement of cultural heritage, along with a whole host of opportunities. The agency offers the following:
The recently reopened home where Antonio Stradivari lived between 1667 and 1680 include a luthiery workshop, various exhibition rooms and a music laboratory. The Casa Stradivari Foundation, which was set up with this particular project in mind, intends not only to upgrade the building but also to give it a new lease of life. Casa Stradivari will be a place for artists to come together to play instruments and participate in workshops on luthiery technique and musical practice. A reading room, meanwhile, will house an archive of music and history books aimed at inspiring anyone who takes a moment to browse through them, while the ‘Artist in Residence’ programme will have the house teeming with ideas and inspiration for young musicians.
Over the course of the year, the UNESCO Office, in conjunction with the Museo del Violino and certain other institutions, organizes continuing education courses for the Cremonese luthiery community as a source of continuous stimulation, supported by the scientific studies conducted in the laboratories of the University of Pavia and the Polytechnic University of Milan, which are located inside the Museo del Violino.
The ‘Antonio Stradivari’ International Triennial Stringed Instrument Competition, affectionately known as the ‘Luthiery Olympics’, has been held in Cremona since 1976. The event is, in fact, a valuable opportunity for producers from all over the world to compare their instruments, which are assessed by a panel of experts based on the quality of their craftsmanship and acoustic performance. Gold medal-worthy specimens are then purchased by the Fondazione Museo del Violino and become part of the permanent contemporary luthiery collection—a unique testimony to the most perfect contemporary specimens and an important opportunity to reflect on the significance and cultural value of the work of today’s craftsmen.
The birth of the Fondazione Museo del Violino Antonio Stradivari in 2013 was a fundamental step towards the creation of an integrated cultural system. Located in the historic Palazzo dell'Arte, the museum now houses, for the first time under the same roof, the collections from the Museo Stradivariano and the Gli Archi di Palazzo Comunale (‘Strings of the Municipal Palace’) collection, as well as material, audio-video and multimedia documentation recounting the history of luthiery from the 16th century to the modern day. It offers interactive educational pathways, houses an auditorium with a special acoustic architectural design and, unusually for an Italian museum, is home to two permanent laboratories—the ‘Arvedi’ Laboratory of Non-Invasive Diagnostics, run by the University of Pavia, and a musical acoustics laboratory belonging to the Polytechnic University of Milan.
The protection of the precious collections, the international network linked to the Friends of Stradivari project and the enhancement of the museum heritage are all part of a structured and continuous dialogue with the living crafts sector and the fields of scientific research and innovation. The Museo del Violino collects and preserves jewels of both ancient and contemporary luthiery, including Stradivarian artefacts, two priceless collections—Lo Scrigno dei Tesori (‘The Treasure Chest’) and the Friends of Stradivari—and a collection dedicated to showcasing the world’s finest contemporary luthiery.
