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I had an early flight out of Valencia so I drove back from Benicassim and spent the night at a hotel near the airport. Ryanair uneventful two hour flight to Milan Malpensa Airport. Picked up my Rental car and drove to Cremona.

Cremona – Home of the Violin and Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) the Master Luthier or Violin Maker. I grew up listening to Classical music and the violin is my favourite instrument. Cremona epitomises all that the craft of Luthier represents. The violins created by Stradivari are still in use after 400 years by leading violinists. He made over 1,100 instruments, and about 500 to 650 of the original violins survive today. Stradivarius violins routinely sell for millions of dollars at auction, with notable sales reaching over $15 million to $23 million (such as the Lady Blunt or Baron Knoop). First stop was the Violin Museum which is very well done.

Cremona also has a huge and very impressive cathedral Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta that rivals that of many larger cities, quite amazing. There is a museum attached to the Cathedral with a collection of religious paintings and sculptures. There is also the Museo Civico Ala Ponzone which is actually an Art Gallery. Overall Cremona surprised me as I was expecting to see just the Violin Museum but it had so much more.