The violin
that we can admire and listen to in the room with landscape and floral still
life paintings (Sala dei paesaggi e delle nature morte con fiori) in Tartini's
house is one of three that Giuseppe left to his nephew Pietro. It is an
instrument made by Nicolò Marchioni Amati in Bologna between 1715 and 1725. The
violin made for him by Antonio Stradivari in 1715 in Cremona was tracked down,
too. It is now in the property of Frank Almando, the concert master of the
symphony orchestra in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA).
Amati’s
violin was bought by the Municipality of Piran and was left in the care of the
city library and municipality archives. In June 1940, the then librarian, a
teacher Domenico Petronio, hid it, together with the most valuable archived
documents, under the stairs of the city hall, which was walled in so that the
valuables wouldn't disappear during the war. The violin was saved from its
humid hiding place after WWII in 1947. After numerous restorations, it is now
exhibited in Tartini's house. On special occasions it is played by the most
renowned Slovenian and international violinists, who give guest performances in
Piran.