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Violin Museum

Cremona's temple to Stradivari and Amati violins, still played to keep their sound alive.

  • Cremona
  • Museum
Plan your visit
Where
Cremona
Best for
Stradivari and Amati originals
Allow
1 hr 30 min
Tickets
From €14
Checked September 2026

Cremona invented the violin in the sixteenth century and never stopped making them: roughly 150 workshops in the city still practice the craft today. The Museo del Violino, set in the restored Palazzo dell'Arte on Piazza Marconi, gathers instruments by Amati, Guarneri del Gesu and Antonio Stradivari, the three families who defined how a violin should sound.

Rather than sealing the collection behind glass forever, the museum has its prized instruments played on rotation, often in the Auditorium Giovanni Arvedi, so the wood keeps vibrating the way its makers intended. A listening room lets visitors compare recordings of different instruments side by side, a rare chance to hear the difference a few centuries and a few millimeters of arching can make.

Four works worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The treasure roomAntonio Stradivari, the Amati and Guarneri families

    Instruments by Stradivari, Amati and Guarneri together in one place; ask which ones are played on rotation.The room that houses the most important donated instruments

  2. Stradivari's workshop relicsAntonio Stradivari

    More than 700 drawings, molds and tools from his workshop, the clearest view of how a violin was designed.The room of the Stradivarian tools

  3. The Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium

    A 464-seat concert hall where the collection's instruments are played, so the wood keeps vibrating.At the back of the museum

  4. The listening room

    Recordings of different instruments played side by side, so you can hear the difference a few millimeters of arching can make.

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
From €14
Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
1 hr 30 min
Best time
Weekday late morning, right at opening, before tour groups arrive
Getting there
The museum sits on Piazza Marconi, an easy walk from Cremona's train station and from Piazza del Comune. Drivers can use the paid Piazza Marconi or Via Palestro car parks nearby.

€11 reduced (ages 11-18, students under 26, over 65, Touring Club/FAI/Welcome Card holders); free under 11 and for visitors with disabilities plus one companion; guided tours cost extra. Last updated September 2026. Prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Check the museum's events calendar before you go: on select afternoons a student from the attached violin-making school plays several instruments back to back in the listening room, which is the best way to actually hear what makes a Stradivari different.

Official website
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Good to know

How long should you spend at the Violin Museum?

About an hour and a half. Add time if you stop in the listening room and look closely at the workshop tools, which are the most absorbing rooms.

Is the Violin Museum worth visiting?

Yes, even if you are not a musician. It shows how the violin was invented and perfected in Cremona, and you can hear the instruments rather than just look at them.

Do you need to book the Violin Museum?

No, you can buy a ticket at the door. If you want to attend a recital in the auditorium, book that separately ahead.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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