The 70,000-large, Lombard city of Cremona hums with a musical legacy. Best known as the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri, and Andrea Amati, who invented the violin, it remains the global heart of violin-making, where luthiers (stringed instrument craftsmen) continue to handcraft instruments as they did in the 17th century.

The city’s musicality is only bolstered by its latest prodigy, the legendary singer Mina, deemed la Tigre di Cremona (the Tigress of Cremona) and who named her 1996 album after the beloved town where she grew up.