Museum San Colombano, Bologna, Italy
March – July 2020

(the Coronavirus Expo)

Exhibitions of the Orpheon Foundation

The Vazquez Collection of Historical String Instruments

Violins, Violas da gamba, Viola d’amore, Violoncellos, Double Basses from 1500 to 1789

The voyage of the instruments, from the Castello di Duino to Bologna, and the assembly of the new exhibition

In times of the corona virus, travelling was a singular experience!

We had to spend a day to organize the place.

We still had enough time to enjoy Bologna!

Mission Impossible, but we accepted it!
rent the huge van, travel from Bologna to Duino, load the complete contents of the castle (2 tons of materials), drive back to Duino and unload everything at the museum that very same evening!
Our intrepid team was up to the challenge!

We left behind a nearly-empty castle. The halls now decorated with only a few Chinese paintings and prints and some decorative ladies’ fans.
And one large fossiled dinosaur!

It was DD-Day (Departure Duino Day), the longest day, ending with the unloading of the entire contents of the truck in the museum in Bologna.

The next three days were an ordeal! First, the cases had to be assembled, requiring special skills that most musicians lack, and designing the exhibition in the available spaces of the museum.
But there was still some (very little) time to play…we just couldn’t resist!