The Politeama Theatre: a new life with the Stauffer Foundation
The future of Cremonese violin making and the cultural enrichment of the region passes through the historic Politeama Theatre on Via Cesare Battisti. Friday, October 9, 2026 marks the launch of the regional promotion project “Cremona, Capital of Violin Making,” spearheaded by the Walter Stauffer Foundation, which recently acquired the property to transform it into the new Casa della Liuteria.
The initiative aims to combine the preservation of the city’s centuries-old craft tradition with the cultural, tourist, and economic development of Cremona. The major urban regeneration project planned for the Politeama will create a dedicated hub for music and craftsmanship, complete with exhibition spaces, a large multi-purpose hall, and a specialized research library.
The venue will then be one of the highlights of the weekend on October 10 and 11, opening its doors to the public for the Giornate FAI d’Autunno, offering everyone the opportunity to rediscover a symbolic landmark ready for new life. Visitors will cross the threshold of this emblematic building, inaccessible for almost sixty years, and discover it at a pivotal moment in its history. Today, the Politeama has the striking appearance of a “deconsecrated cathedral”, awaiting the restoration project undertaken by the Stauffer Foundation and designed by architect Angelo Micheli. The visit will reveal the magnificent, light-filled “architectural void” beneath the metal dome, alongside the surviving decorations and frescoes by Guindani, the telamons flanking the stage and the complex scaffolding currently protecting them. Visitors will experience first-hand the striking contrast between the building’s nineteenth-century elegance and the stark concrete interventions introduced in later years. The itinerary will also explore the challenges of the forthcoming restoration and the Politeama’s future purpose: a “home for violin makers”, managed by Cremona’s “Antonio Stradivari” Consortium of Violinmakers and conceived as a space dedicated not only to contemporary Cremonese violin making, but also to other forms of art and culture.