The £192,000 Fabbri Palazzo — Hidden Wealth in a Forgotten Violin Maker’s Workshop

Fabbri Palazzo housed an indoor violin maker’s workshop devoted to craft and accumulation. Within these walls, £192,000 existed as wealth—tied in commissions for private musicians, orchestral instruments, and rare wood acquisitions—now hidden in stillness and silence.

Instruments, Scrolls, and Recorded Wealth

Lorenzo Antonio Fabbri, master violin maker and luthier, was born in 1863 in Cremona.

Trained under local masters, he supplied orchestras and noble households across Northern Italy. Married to Isabella Fabbri, father of two daughters, his presence endures through objects: chisels engraved with his full legal name, carefully stacked spruce and maple boards, varnish brushes lined in order, bundles of correspondence from patrons, and a ledger recording wealth from each instrument. His routine followed precise cadence—wood selection at dawn, carving by midday, varnishing and documentation by lamplight—revealing a temperament meticulous, patient, and devoted.

Material Shortages and Patron Withdrawal

By 1914, international conflict disrupted the import of rare woods and diminished aristocratic patronage. Commissions were canceled, deposits withheld. The workshop preserves the interruption: violins left unstrung, varnish pots dried, ledger columns ending mid-entry. Some instruments may have been delivered; most remain arranged, their wealth cataloged yet unrealized.

A final notation beneath the last ledger entry reads: “Maintain wealth until commissions resume.” Commissions never returned. Fabbri Palazzo stands abandoned indoors, its workshop intact, its violins poised, and its hidden wealth suspended between craft and silence.