Il Cannone
Paganini’s violin
Housed since 1851 in Genova inside Palazzo Doria Tursi, ‘Il Cannone’ of Niccolò Paganini, the violin made by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ in 1743 is today exhibited in a special room inside the museum; along with the ‘Cannone’ visitors can see the fittings used by Paganini, various memorabilia, autographs and the copy made by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris in 1834: the violin was later sold by Paganini to his pupil Camillo Sivori, who left it to the town of Genova after his death.
The ‘Cannone’ is today in excellent conservative condition: the violin still retain its original neck, the plates have never been re-graduated, the varnish was never polished and it is still admirable for its pure and and fresh look.
Since 2005 the Cannone is monitored by a team of scientists and experts who constantly check the conservative condition of the violin and the environmental condition of the room.
The Museum of Palazzo Tursi is linked with museums of Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco in Strada Nuova, today via Garibaldi, one of the most beautiful italian rennaissance and baroque street; collections include paintings by Filippino Lippi, Caravaggio, Pietr Paul Rubes, Anton Van Dick, Bernardo strozzi, Alessandro Magnasco and others.
“What we can learn from the intriguing relationship between the “Cannon”‘s powerful sound and its extraordinarily bold construction?”
An article by Alberto Giordano for Tarisio’s Cozio carteggio
