The film Stradivari, directed by Giacomo Battiato and starring Anthony Quinn as the great violin maker, was an iconic event. The crew filmed in Cremona from September 6 to 20, 1987, involving the entire city. It was an unforgettable moment, still vivid in the memories of many Cremonese. Sixteen weeks of filming, partly in the city where Stradivari was born and worked—Cremona—and partly at Cinecittà. Sixteen weeks to tell, according to a screenplay by Suso Cecchi D’Amico, Ernesto Gastaldi, and Vittorio Salerno, three key moments in the life of the greatest violin maker who ever lived: a moment of childhood to focus on the "when" and "how" of his "enlightenment"; youth to tell of a love story; and then maturity—sixty years old, success, the death of his first wife, and remarriage. The sets were designed by Paolo Biagetti, a student of the great Ricceri, who had previously collaborated with Battiato on Il Cugino Americano. The costumes, simple yet beautiful, with dense, natural colors and the austere dignity of the time, were designed by Nanà Cecchi, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Anthony Quinn arrived in Cremona on the evening of September 6. Initially, the plan was to accommodate the Quinn family in a private house in Piazza Filodrammatici, but eventually, they opted for a large hotel in Brescia. The meals for the crew were provided by Italmense, prepared by Barilla. The first take took place on the morning of September 7, a Monday, on the Piacenza side of the Po River. The camera focused on a child approaching the river from a beautiful poplar grove in the Po Valley. This could be the first sequence of the film about the life of the great violin maker. The schedule was followed without difficulty, only small inconveniences due to the distance between the set and the city center. On the banks of the Po, alongside director Giacomo Battiato, were operators, technicians, and director of photography Tonino Delli Colli. The film also provided a moment of glory for more than one hundred extras from Cremona. The production office, set up at the Hotel Impero, was buzzing with activity in this particular moment of dynamism as the city embraced the legacy of Antonio Stradivari. On September 10, French actress Valerie Kaprisky, chosen by Battiato to play Stradivari’s first wife, Francesca Ferraboschi, made her entrance. For the moment, she avoided the curious public, spending the day on makeup and rehearsals, script in hand, preparing for an important scene, a long monologue that was also the first scene of the film. On Saturday, September 12, Stefania Sandrelli was announced to join the cast. After spending a few days on makeup and costume rehearsals, she would begin filming the following week. Anthony Quinn, however, arrived the following day after waiting at a beauty center in Brescia. By the sixth week of filming, work had mostly taken place along the Po River. "There’s a bit of mystery surrounding the birth of the violin maker," explained director Battiato. "We don’t know exactly where he came from or who his mother was. We chose to begin the story with a child arriving from the river." The young Stradivari was played by a thirteen-year-old boy from Rome. "He’s truly extraordinary. We had long selections, but in the end, we found what we were looking for. A sensitive face, a young actor seemingly born for the camera, with all the freshness and naturalness of his age." Meanwhile, news arrived that Nanà Cecchi, the costume designer who would dress Anthony Quinn, Stefania Sandrelli, and the entire cast, had won the top award at the Venice Film Festival for Giuliano Montaldo’s Gli Occhiali d’Oro, based on a novel by Giorgio Bassani set in Ferrara in 1939, on the eve of World War II.

A few words about the set in Cremona: “It was undoubtedly complex. Naturally, historical research was needed on iconographic documents. Then I tried to achieve the most appropriate results for the shots through a process of stylization in the forms and color scales. A great help, however, was the wonderful rapport with the director and the other collaborators.” On Friday morning, September 11, a thin layer of sand had already been spread along one side of Piazza del Duomo in preparation for the afternoon shooting.

The set by the Po River, near Stagno Lombardo, was meanwhile invaded by mosquitoes, forcing the beautiful Valerie Kaprisky to improvise a mosquito net. On set was also Lorenzo Quinn, playing the young Stradivari: in the morning, Valerie, in the role of Francesca Ferraboschi, performed a long monologue explaining the circumstances of her husband's death. Then Lorenzo—Antonio, gazing at the river, proposes marriage to her. On set was Cesare Magrini, a Bolognese expert in violin making who had supplied all the instruments used in the film. He had built five strange violins for young Stradivari, which, according to the script, the unsatisfied young violin maker was supposed to break. Magrini explained that the actors themselves would handle the carving tools to shape the pieces of raw wood.

Finally, on Wednesday morning, September 16, Anthony Quinn appeared on the steps of the Duomo, meeting his second wife, Antonia Maria Zambelli, played by Stefania Sandrelli. The barriers on the opposite side of the square kept the public under the arcades of the Town Hall. People stood on tiptoe, pointing as they caught a glimpse of the two actors. In the afternoon, filming continued inside, at the top floor of Via Janello Torriani 22. For about a hundred meters along the main street, the shops were closed, and the shopkeepers stood in the doorways. Some said they had seen Valerie Kaprisky riding a bicycle. It was true; the young French actress, wearing jeans and without makeup, had been wandering around the city in this casual manner.

For 75,000 lire per day, plus a pre-packaged meal provided by Barilla, dozens of Cremonese experienced the thrill of becoming part of the film, albeit in secondary roles. Assistant director Gianni Arduini confessed that he never expected so many people from all walks of life to volunteer in a city as rich as ours: “Many were professionals or ladies from the middle and upper classes, not motivated by the pay but by the desire to do something different or perhaps even to contribute to the success of the Stradivari film, bringing pride to their city. And I encountered a great willingness to endure the sacrifices that come with the role.”

The amateur actors were often required to work up to twelve hours a day, wearing costumes weighing 14 or 15 kilograms, eating under the town hall portico or even outdoors under the sun. There were also a few curious incidents: during one shot in the square, an extra's trousers elastic broke, causing a brief moment of panic since the seamstress was missing after visiting the cathedral. Then there were rebellions: one man, already dressed as a monk, was told he had too long a neck for the role and indignantly threw off his robe, saying he certainly wouldn’t shorten his neck. Or the one who, after being appointed royal attendant, was demoted to a simple soldier the next day, only to be reinstated in his noble position after a strong protest shared by other crew members.

“I couldn’t refuse this Stradivari,” said Anthony Quinn in an interview. “Because I felt like him as soon as they mentioned it. There are curious coincidences in life. My name is Antonio, I’ve had two wives, and Stradivari had two wives. I have ten children, just like him. But above all, I use these hands, I love working with wood. I’m an artisan, if you will. We overlap, we identify with each other, we lose ourselves in distant and present figures, in an eternal humanity.”

"It was a positive experience," declared director Giacomo Battiato. "I had the pleasure of working with an extremely professional, versatile crew, who responded with dedication and commitment, even in difficult situations. I must say that Cremona has reacted magnificently to the inconvenience. You know, in the first few days, film shoots are a curiosity, and people can endure them. But later on, they can cause some annoyance. However, the city has adapted without causing any problems. There’s great hospitality and a strong spirit of collaboration. I couldn’t ask for more. There’s also a remarkable level of discipline. Of course, some photographers want to be in front of the others, but we always manage to reach an agreement without any undue pressure or insistence. It was an extremely positive experience."

Was it the same for the actors on set? "Without a doubt. We’re dealing with true professionals—disciplined, rigorous, and extremely attentive. They were not disturbed at all. In fact, for example, Quinn was moved when, as he entered the set, the audience greeted him with a big round of applause. And Stefania Sandrelli was enchanted by your cuisine... she keeps talking about the mostarda, which she had never tasted before, and enjoyed with your delicious boiled meats."

And how did you find Cremona—was this your first time getting to know it under these circumstances? “Not at all, not at all. I can say that, in a way, Cremona is family. My grandmother was from Soresina, and my mother also spent a long time in Soresina and Cremona. And I naturally accompanied her… Cremona is splendid, beautiful, with a charm entirely its own. And then, with all its masterpieces—with Campi, Stradivari, Monteverdi—how could one not feel a harmony that is uniquely its own? I tried to show it far and wide, to display it in the film as much as possible… Unfortunately, I would have liked to shoot even more in Cremona, but we were forced to reconstruct at Cinecittà. There has also been considerable damage to the fabric of the oldest part of the city, which is heartbreaking. Cremona will certainly come across well in this film. After all, the story opens and closes against the backdrop of the Po and the red background of its brick walls. A suggestive experience.”

The black-and-white photographs are by Giuseppe Muchetti.