Presentation delivered by Ms. Benedetta Ubertazzi, UNESCO-trained facilitator

1. INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN
EMERGENCIES
‘TRADITIONAL VIOLIN CRAFTSMANSHIP IN CREMONA’
26 JUNE 2020 | 14TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOUT-EAST EUROPEAN EXPERTS NETWORK ON INTANGIBLE
CULTURAL HERITAGE
BENEDETTA UBERTAZZI
UNESCO Facilitator, Global Capacity Building Programme for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage;
Aggregate Professor EU Law University Milan-Bicocca.
Legal Advisor for the Italian Municipality of Cremona in relation to the Element ‘Traditional violin craftsmanship in
Cremona’, inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

2. ¨ Cremona is a city and commune in northern
Italy, situated in Lombardy
¨ Population of approximately 75,000
¨ Cremona was hit the hardest by the
COVID19 outbreak in Italy
¤ 6,577 cases of COVID19 in Cremona (as at
21 June 2020)
¤ 391% increase in deaths in March compared
with the 2015-2019 average
¤ The hospital in Cremona was the hardest hit in
all of Italy’s north with all the beds taken up
by patients infected by the virus. Entire wards
were converted to respiratory wards for
patients.
Why Cremona?

3. Why was Cremona hit so hard?
¨ There is ongoing debate as to why Cremona was so heavily
impacted by the pandemic and, more generally, why northern Italy
had much higher death rates than the rest of the country:
¤ Scientists and researchers have claimed that environmental conditions
led to the speed of the spread and that there was a possible
correlation between air pollution levels in Northern Italy and the
spread of COVID19.
¤ On the other hand, others argue that agriculture and livestock (mass
farming) were the culprit

4. Traditional violin craftsmanship in
Cremona
Inscribed in 2012 (7.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity
¨ Highly renowned for its traditional
process of fashioning and restoring
violins, violas, cellos and contrabasses
¨ No two violins are alike
¨ The element is governed by the
Municipality of Cremona
¨ Every part of the instrument is made with a
specific, carefully selected and naturally
well seasoned piece of wood
¨ Craftsmanship requires a high level of
creativity: each instrument is adapted to the
general rules and personal knowledge of
the craftsperson

5. Pandemics and Living Heritage
¨ The Cremonese violinmakers were
directly impacted by the pandemic:
¤ In ordinary circumstances, each
violinmaker constructs from three
to six instruments per year from
their laboratories
¤ Due to the lockdown measures,
violinmakers were prevented from
entering their laboratories and
therefore from continuing their
practice.
¤ For traditional violinmakers, the practice of their art and know-how is kept alive
through face-to-face contact with their pupils. This was not possible during the state
of pandemic.

6. Reacting to COVID-19
¨ The emergency phase of the pandemic required
immediate measures to facilitate the continued
practice of violin craftsmanship. The governance
body of the community, comprised of Municipality of
Cremona, the Cultural District and the Violin Museum
responded with the following impact-mitigating
measures:
¤ Intensification of collaboration with social
networks
¤ Virtual broadcasts of special hearings and
auditions
¤ Promotional videos dedicated to the ‘deserted’
City of Cremona
¤ Special hearing on Easter Sunday with the violin
by Antonio Stradivari “II Cremonese” 1715
¤ A series of capacity-building workshops for the
community to be held virtually, one of which is a
UNESCO capacity-building workshop

7. Community-based resilience in the face
of COVID19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0dDDztA6RE
¨ The performance of Lena Yokoyama, on
the roof of the hospital in Cremona was
viewed across the world and became a
powerful reminder of resilience and
hope in times of crisis:
¤ Parts of the video were used by the well-
known Italian confectionary brand,
Barilla, in their latest commercial.
¤ The video was also featured on Japanese
state TV during a special on COVID19.
¨ Proceeds from the transfer of copyright
were donated to the United Onlus for
Cremona.

8. Lessons learned from COVID19
¨ Digitization cannot mitigate all the impacts of a
global crisis on ICH.
¨ For traditional violinmakers, the pandemic struck
at the heart of their practice in two crucial ways.
¨ Firstly, due to the lockdown, violinmakers were
unable to physically enter their workshops and
access their wood and materials. Each part of a
traditional violin is made with specific wood that
has been felt by the craftsman and hand-
selected. This process of touching is absolutely
essential as it affects the sound produced by the
instrument. How is it possible to digitalize this
process of touching and feeling?

9. Lessons learned from COVID19
¨ Secondly, the crisis led to the closure of cultural
institutions, including the Violin Museum, which form
part of the Cremonese community as guardians of
knowledge and immaterial know-how.
¨ In Cremona, these museums are home to the
university laboratories, the Stradivari collection tools
and the ancient luthiery collections. For violinmakers,
these are strategic tools allowing them to constantly
learn and continue their practice. Their access to
these resources and ability to physically touch and
play the instruments from the ancient collections are
essential to the traditional violinmaking craft as it
allows violinmakers to learn from the past and
perfect their practice.
¨ This relationship between the violinmaker and the
Museum cannot simply be shifted to the online realm.

10. Long-term impact of COVID19 on
Cremona
¨ The crisis has endangered the
l o n g - t e r m e c o n o m i c
sustainability of the
community as it is difficult to
a s c e r t a i n h o w m a n y
workshops and laboratories
will survive post-COVID19
¨ As violinmaking in Cremona
represents a vital symbol of
the community’s identity and
rich history, the crisis has
a l s o i m p a c t e d t h e
c o m m u n i t y ’s s o c i a l
s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a n d
development.
Sustainability must be at the centre of efforts to reactivate traditional
craftsmanship after the Covid19.

11. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
BENEDETTA UBERTAZZI
benedetta.ubertazzi@ubertazzi.it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0dDDztA6RE