The museum
Museo della Musica, Venice
What the Museo della Musica holds in the former church of San Maurizio, who made its violins, double basses and lutes, and how to find it.
Book the Four Seasons concert ↗Quick answer
The Museo della Musica is a museum of historic string instruments in the former church of San Maurizio, on Campo San Maurizio in Venice. Its own website says the collection covers 300 years of Italian violin making. The Four Seasons concert ticket includes a visit on the day of the concert.
What it is
The museum’s website describes it as an exhibition dedicated to the making of musical instruments, one of the artistic achievements of Italian culture. Venice, it says, has been a storehouse of important instrument makers, particularly of violins, whose craftsmen experimented until the instruments answered the sound of the age. The display is called Antonio Vivaldi and his time, and it belongs to the collection of Artemio Versari. The 18th century is the period it treats as the most significant for Italian violin making.
The church around it
The museum’s site says the church was first mentioned in 1088, rebuilt after a fire in 1105, rebuilt again in 1580 and then demolished and rebuilt between 1795 and 1806. Wikipedia says the neoclassical building is mainly the work of Giovanni Antonio Selva and that it is now deconsecrated. Bartolomeo Ferrari’s bas-reliefs decorate the façade. Wikipedia’s article also records that, as of 2020, entrance to the museum was free.
What is on show
The online list names violins by makers across Italy, including a Gasparo da Salò school violin dated 1600, Guadagnini, Testore and Amati instruments, violas, cellos and double basses. It also lists lutes, mandolins, a harp, a psaltery, an oboe, clarinets and a bassoon. Among the double basses are works by Niccolò Amati and Bergonzi, and a psaltery is marked as Venetian school.
Makers to look for
The museum’s text names Amati, Guadagnini and Goffriller, and the ensemble’s concerts take place in the same part of town. Wikipedia says Matteo Goffriller arrived in Venice in 1685, was for some 25 years the city’s only violin and cello maker, founded the so-called Venetian school and is best known for cellos. Pablo Casals played a 1733 Goffriller cello for most of his career. The museum also names the Cremonese school as the reference point for stringed instruments today.
How a violin is built
Wikipedia says a violin has a spruce top, a maple back and ribs, a neck, an ebony fingerboard, a bridge, a soundpost and a scroll, and that its four strings are tuned in perfect fifths. It adds that the instrument took its present form in early 16th-century northern Italy, with Andrea Amati of Cremona and Gasparo da Salò of the Brescia school among the early makers. The museum’s own list begins with a violin of the Gasparo da Salò school dated 1600.
Old instruments, changed over time
Wikipedia explains that changes in the 18th century gave violins a longer neck set at a steeper angle, heavier strings and a heavier bass bar, and that many old instruments were altered in this way, so they no longer match what left their makers’ workshops. It adds that many players use gut strings for historically informed Baroque performance. Whether the Venetian ensemble plays on gut or modern strings is for the ensemble to say, since the ticket does not.
Practical details
The museum is in the church, which has its own address, Campo San Maurizio, San Marco 2603. The concert is at number 2668. The museum’s own pages offer an audio guide and guided tours as separate services, and its hours differ between pages, so check the live page for your date. The Four Seasons ticket includes a visit on the day of the concert. One visitor never found the museum, so find the church façade first.
Who it suits
Anyone curious about how an instrument is built will enjoy it: scrolls, necks, moulds and tools lie on a luthier’s bench among the keyboards. Hands-on use is not on offer, since touching the exhibits is not allowed, and large bags and flash photography are barred as well.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Museo della Musica?
In the church of San Maurizio, on Campo San Maurizio, San Marco 2603, according to the museum’s own website.
Whose collection is it?
The collection of Artemio Versari, according to the museum’s own website.
Is entrance free?
Wikipedia says entrance was free as of 2020. The Four Seasons ticket includes a visit on the concert day.
Sources