UNESCO has placed Cremonese violin making on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Lutherie in the Italian city was one of 27 activities and traditions that were added to the list after a UNESCO committee meeting in Paris this month. Others include traditional straw-hat weaving in Ecuador, festivals in Spain, Colombia and Turkey, Klapa multi-part singing in southern Croatia, and the craftsmanship and performance art of the Tar, a long-necked stringed instrument in Azerbaijan.

Cremona has been campaigning to get UNESCO recognition of its violin making tradition since early 2011, when it officially put forward lutherie in the city as a candidate for inclusion on the list. Cremonese violin making edged out Neapolitan pizza as Italy's nomination for 2012. The country was not represented in the list in 2011, and was last included jointly with Spain, Greece and Morocco for the Mediterranean diet in 2010.

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