Tree rings reveal origins of some of world's best violins

A study of over 275 violins suggests wood from northern Italy used by Stradivari

- KATHERINE KORNEI

EVERYONE WANTS A piece of some of the world’s famous violins. Switzerland, France, Slovenia and other European countries have all claimed that the wood used in the celebrated stringed instruments of Antonio Stradivari came from their forests. But now, a study of the tree rings in Stradivarius violins, published in the journal Dendrochronologia, has revealed the most likely origin of some of the craftsman’s violins: wood from trees growing at high elevation in northern Italy in the same valley that hosted part of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.