The "Guarneri del Gesù"
 |
Surveillance program to collect data research on the violin the 'Cannone' by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri known as 'del Gesù'
The 'Cannone' is an instrument that because of its origin, condition and history, holds an important position in the field of historical string instruments. For these reasons the Municipality of Genoa considers this violin as an object of cultural heritage whose fruition and enjoyment should be reconciled with a policy maintaining its preservation for the future. Therefore, in order to integrate the technical data on the instrument, research on the condition of the 'Cannone', that will permit the individuation of the effects caused by climatic variations on the violin, has been started. Inside the showcase containing the violin two sensors gauge non-stop the temperature and the relative humidity, and the violin rests on a precision balance that can gauge the variation of the weight caused by the loss or the gain in humidity in relation to the wood of which the instrument is made.
The project of monitoring has been developed by the City of Genoa (City Council for Communication and Promotion of the City of Genoa) with the collaboration of the University of Florence (DISTAF - Department of Environmental and Forestry Studies) and the Musical Instruments Museum of the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.
