Cremona is a city that offers many opportunities to visit, of all kinds and for all tastes: tasting in the workshop is only one to which you can participate.
Tasting in the shop
Through this initiative Saturday 14 December Angela and I listened and saw how a violin is born, (because Cremona is the world capital of this art), its curiosities and at the end we did the tasting of typical local products.
In the world nothing great has been done without passion
We report this famous Hegel phrase because it is really so: you are inside the luthier’s shop, you listen to his story, every detail of the story that made Cremona known in the world for the violin, the peculiarities of the instrument, the type of wood used , how to create a violin, its value, and much more.
Enter the world of violin making, made first of all of passion precisely, because to make a violin you really need a lot of it, you need to be careful, dexterity, accuracy in details: the precision of every single centimeter makes the difference in the sound and this difference, in the end it is of the same violin from another.
It is necessary to feel the living wood, the sound, the masterly touch of the master to the sound he emits when he feels it, the perception of his fingers and all his passion that turns into experience.
It is a very elegant and fine instrument and for this reason starting from the wood used, only the spruce from the Val di Fiemme until the end, to the painting with natural resin, is created by the expert hand of the luthier. Today, the master tells us, there are about 160 activities in Cremona such as his and he thinks, to create a violin it takes at least 2 months!
In Cremona there is the International School of Violin Making, named after the great Antonio Stradivari: inside the student studies sound and technique, acquires experience, practices but only thanks to studies of the past and a solid technique allows them to be able to design and be the master luthiers we see today in the shops.
Antonio Stradivari, Andrea and after Nicola Amati, Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri, known as del Gesù, are some of the names that have made the history of the violin and of Cremona in the world great: the countries with the most demand for violins are the East and the Europe. In 2018 a Cremonese violin maker even created a blue violin: the Bangkok Music Institute founded by Princess Galyani Vadhana requested it in person, bringing it in person.
Our morning continues fast, after an hour of almost listening and of photographs, questions and answers, because it was impossible to remain silent of considerations, we did the tasting with the typical Cremonese products:
- mustard with cheese
- the Cremona salami
- the sbrisolona
- the soft nougat
- accompanied by a taste of wine
We stopped here, but the visit continues with the audition of a historical violin at the Museo del Violino, a guided tour of the city center and a visit to a cheese producer.
Our conclusions
To understand well what it means to build a violin, and understand its economic and emotional value, you must go to a master violin maker to tell you this story: this is a wonderful opportunity to visit, you will be kidnapped, at least as it was for us .
For us it was a wonderful occasion and it is only the beginning of a long series, which we will tell you.
How to participate in Degustando in bottega
It is very simple: until January 5th 2020, every weekend, by booking your visit to the Infopoint and purchasing the special edition Welcome Card tourist card, you will have access to a series of ideas for visiting the city.
On Saturdays there are visits to the shops with the final tasting, the audition of a historical violin at the Museo del Violino, the guided tour of the city center and one at a cheese producer.
For the guided tour of the violin making laboratories with tasting, (as we did) you can choose the morning or afternoon appointment. Keep in mind that if you want to participate in the audition of an ancient instrument included in the package, it is held only on Saturdays at noon, in the auditorium of the Museo del Violino, a few steps from the historic center.
The guided tour of the city starts in the early afternoon and late afternoon at the company that produces cheeses and dairy products, and at its farm shop.
For more information we leave you the references of the initiative where you find the prices, and the calendar of activities.
Where to stop in Cremona by camper
Cremona has a convenient free parking in Piazzale della Croce Rossa 1. You can stop and walk to the nearby historic center. Or if you want to organize a weekend you can take advantage of the comfortable Parco al Po camping, in Via del Sale, 60. These are the references
