[mobertol]

Today's trip out into Cremona and the museum was slightly marred by the weather. It was only light rain when getting to the museum, where I had a nice lunch in their trendy bar/restaurant. Also you weren't allowed to take photos inside the museum which was a real shame as it is very interesting architecturally and for the actual collection of violins. It's very state of the art, multi-media and interactive - you have a little handset which gives you an audio tour -it activates automatically depending on which part of the museum you're in. You go into a little workshop where the sights, sounds and smells of a violin-makers workshop are recreated and can activate films on special tables showing all the various parts of the violin, how they are made and put together. The technique is more or less exactly as it was in the time of the 3 great violin-makers from Cremona - Andrea Amati, Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari whose work covers from about 1580 through to the early 1700's. There is a violin in the collection which was made for the court of Henry VIII ! Some of them are beautifully decorated - unbelievable workmanship and they are worth a fortune.
1 Arrival at the museum -light rain!
2-5 Inside the bar/restaurant "Chiave di Bacco" (Bacchus's Key) - the ceiling is covered in musical scores and the large illuminated squares are some of the walls of the museum which is on the first floor.
6 Advert for the museum showing the most precious part of the collection
7 Suspended advert for the museum on the old tram lines.
8 The courtyard and sculpture -taken when leaving
9 Leaving the museum in heavy rain
10 Statue of Antonio Stradivari in the piazza in Cremona which bears his name -he looks pretty wet as I was at this point -no brolly!