
Violins are shown at violin making school in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Acoustics aren’t all that count when making a violin. Aesthetics are also a key element. And that’s why the craft of making stringed instruments is thriving in Italy, a country known for its love of beauty and long history of violinmaking.
Stradivarius made his prized violins in Cremona, but the craft is growing in other cities in the Lombardy region, including Milan and nearby Pavia.

Violinmaker Marco Brunello tests a violin in Pavia, Italy, Friday, April 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Marco Brunello says the sculpting of the violin scroll is distinctive to the artist who makes it, his or her signature.
The 44-year-old violinmaker in Pavia took up the trade after a decade as an engineer. His shop on a quiet pedestrian street displays a few examples of his work in the window. But the magic happens in the instrument-making workshop at the back. Brunello creates about 10 violins a year, each involving about 200-300 hours of work.

A violin made by Marco Brunello is shown inside his lab in Pavia, Italy, Friday, April 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
The starting price for a Brunello violin is 5,000 euros ($5,600) — and the sky is the limit on the final tab. Brunello’s customers are mostly from Asia.

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
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Marco Brunello checks the shape of a violin inside his lab in Pavia, Italy, Friday, April 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
At the Civica Scuola di Liuteria di Milano, a school for making stringed instruments, students dedicate the first two years to the technical foundations, learning how to properly use the tools. Only after that can turn their creative energies to violin design. Established in 1978, the school accepts just 15 students a year.

A part of a violin is shown at violin making school in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
“For me, the greatest joy when making a violin is when I assemble the strings, when in fact I can play the violin,” said Franco Ferloni, a fourth-year student in his final year.
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