the house and workshop of the famous Stradivarius reopens its doors in Cremona, Italy

For several years, the house of the famous luthier, who gave his name to the violin, had been abandoned. Since last July, it has once again been a place where violins are made and where musicians can meet.

In 2020, for the 300th anniversary of his Stradivarius, the musician Fabrizio Von Arx returns to Cremona, in northern Italy, where his violin was made by the great Antonio Giacomo Stradivari, known as Stradivarius. But once in front of the workshop, the charm falls: “On the ground floor, there was a household appliances store. The house was really abandoned upstairs. We felt heartbroken.”he remembers.

The house wherehe luthier Stradivari worked and lived with his wife and their six children in the second half of the 17th century had, in fact, not been dedicated to its illustrious resident.

With the help of patrons, Fabrizio renovated the house from top to bottom. Since the summer of 2023, the sound of gouges, rasps and files has once again resonated. “There, I am working on the thickness of the bottom of the violin for a weight of 100 grams”, explains Francesco, one of four young luthiers in their twenties who are following a year and a half of training. Among them, a Frenchman, Louis Marin: “Here, in Cremona, it’s special because there are a lot of violin makers. So we eat violin making, we sleep violin making… It’s fascinating.”

Louis has already studied four years at the international violin making school in Cremona. Here, he perfects himself if possible in the manner of the master. “We try, he confides. But we don’t know exactly how he actually worked. There are constructive parts that we have to invent for ourselves.”

The quest for the “real” Stradivarius

A Stradivarius, a real one, like that of Fabrizio Von Arx, motivates the students. Fabrizio takes us upstairs. “There, we are in the inner courtyard, he indicates. Stradivari was doing the final drying of his violins up there. On the other side, we have the lounges where in this room, we will do violin and music masterclasses.”

The private part of the house will become an artists’ residence, because the project goes beyond a restoration of the studio. The objective is to bring luthiers and musicians into prolonged contact, as in the 17th and 18th centuries. “That’s the real secret of Stradivari,” explains Fabrizio Von Arx. At the time, it was a period when there were a lot of violinist composers, like Geminiani, Locatelli and Vivaldi. And the contact with these musicians made this craft become an art.”