Cremona

Just as Bergamo has its Venetian walls and Brescia has its Roman ruins, Cremona has its own defining feature – violins. Its love affair with the fiddle dates back to the early 18th century and the travails of the legendary Antonio Stradivari, who crafted over 1000 stringed instruments in an 80-year career. But once you’ve rosined your bow in the Museo del Violino and nosed in the windows of the specialist luthiers' workshops that still crowd Cremona’s old quarter, there’s plenty more to see.