Hey George Wilson!

[Peter Gavin]

Mr Wilson,

I am, almost by accident, in Cremona Italy and couldn't stop thinking of you.. Cremona was the home of Amati and Stradivarius and they are Very proud of their musical instruments and musicians. We arrived Saturday night and throughout the Centro their were musicians playing impromptu or formalized. Yesterday we went to the Civic Museo and the had a 'Salle de Musico' (actually multiple room) of Chittaras, Mandolins, Ghironda, Hurdy Gurdys, Liutos and Lyra (I probably missed some and skipped some subtypes such as the various national versions of the guitars) curated by Giovanni Accorneo.

Have you ever corresponded, collaborated, taught or learned with S Accornero?

You may have noticed I didn't mention any Violins in the display, though there were some pocket violins and precursors to the Violin. That is because there is a whole other museum devoted just to the violin! I am hoping to get there today but we are leaving and may not have time. A reason to return!

For everyone else, I wish you could have seen the woodwork/wood. The inlay, fretwork, types and selections of wood were simply amazing. Just the detail on the sound holes could have kept me enthralled for hours. Though not a top destination in Italy, if you get a chance to stop in Cremona I highly recommend it.

Peter

[george wilson]

Peter,I wrote a long reply,but the computer won't let me post it. Now it has gotten lost. I'll try again later.

[Jim Koepke]

Peter,I wrote a long reply,but the computer won't let me post it. Now it has gotten lost. I'll try again later.

I hate when that happens. When it started happening to me, I started to write my posts in a text editor. Then it's an easy matter of a copy and paste to the forum.

Many of us appreciate every word you write George, so maybe you could take to heart a saying adopted by men and women with great fortitude, "illegitimi non carborundum!"

jtk

[Curt Harms]

I hate when that happens. When it started happening to me, I started to write my posts in a text editor. Then it's an easy matter of a copy and paste to the forum.

Many of us appreciate every word you write George, so maybe you could take to heart a saying adopted by men and women with great fortitude, "illegitimi non carborundum!"

jtk

Not wishing to hijack the thread but this is an excellent idea for more than a few sentences. Save the work as simple .txt, no formatting beyond perhaps line length.

[george wilson]

We did travel a good bit in Italy. But,I did not get to Cremona. Actually,though I have made a good number of violins,I am not a violinist,which is a severe limitation in the making of any instrument. Never the less,my violins have gone to professionals. We were staying in Northern Italy with friends,and spent time in Venice,drove down to Florence,where we saw original DaVinci pantings and drawings in the Pitti Palace. I was able to get my nose about 4" from "The Annunciation" by DaVinci. The guards were very nice. I made the bell go off once(there is a brass bar around the floor that you must not touch. It is more than 18" from the walls,I guess,but,tall as I am,I was able to lean out quite close! The guards were very friendly. I kept my hands clasped behind my back,as a show that I was not wanting to damage anything!! Now that that idiot broke the nose off of David,I wonder if they have tightened the guarding. Some people have to spoil it for everyone else.

I wanted to get to Cremona,but the day we were as close as we got,was Sunday. I thought everything would be closed down. Verona is as close as we got.

There is just so much to see,you need to be able to spend weeks in Italy.

[Peter Gavin]

If you get back, both the Civic Museo and the Violin Museum were both open on Sunday. And you can eat (we had a fantastic meal) practically across the street from Strafdivarius' house.

[george wilson]

That is good to know,Peter.

[Peter Gavin]

Cremona was the best place in Italy by far. Though there were far fewer people who spoke any English than in the more touristy places.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

George, the creme de la creme (sp?) of musical instruments is the one you did with all the string inlays. I believe it was a lute but can't recall. I must have been too awestruck by the amazing handwork.

My favorite musical instrument visit was to the Torres luthier shop in Spain. As a lover and (horrible) player of flamenco guitar, it was a real treat to see.