Cremona was
a roman colony founded in 218 B.C., north of river Po. Its
geographical position gave it military, civil and commercial
importance in the Republican period. In 603 A.C. it was conquered
and razed by Longobards. In 1098 it became
a free town, and flourished thanks to the development of the
water-way-commerce. After having supported Federico
Barbarossa's policy for a long time, in 1167 it became
a member of the Lombard League taking part in the battle of
Legnano (1167).
The political and economic importance of
the medieval Cremona brought about a new urban development,
which culminated in the construction of the superb complex
of monuments forming the Palazzo Comunale Square
and its imposing walls (1169 - 1187). In 1334 Cremona was
conquered by Visconti and finally became a part of the dukedom
of Milan from 1420 until the unity of Italy. In 1441 to celebrate
the wedding between Bianca Maria Visconti
and Francesco Sforza, Bianca Maria Visconti
brought the town as a dowry and fostered its cultural and
artistic renewal. This artistic production which had as protagonists
Bonifacio and Benedetto Bembo in the second half of the fifteenth
century went on also during the sixteenth century when Cremona
was under the Spanish rule.
In this period the great season of the refined
Cremonensis mannerism grew up and had, among
its significant protagonists, Camillo Boccaccino
and Campi Brothers. The musical tradition,
which had begun in the sixteenth century by Marcantonio
Ingegneri reached the height of its glory with the
"divine" Claudio Monteverdi. Cremona is famous for
the art of making stringed instruments. The skilled founder
was Andrea Amati. This activity was continued
in XVII century by Nicolò Amati, Andrea's
nephew and by Antonio Stradivari until he
died in 1737.
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