The most celebrated virtuoso of all time had a unique instrument with very peculiar characteristics which made it different from all the other violins. Because of its incredible volume projection, Paganini himself named the violin “Il Cannone”, which he received as a gift from an amateur violinist who was an admirer of Paganini. Since then it became a natural extension of himself upon which his ability became legendary. It set a new standard of virtuosity that often cost him the title of "demonic" among his contemporaries. Paganini in fact had an exceptional extension of his left hand fingers’ that allowed him to perform very technical passages.

As stated on the label at the inside (Joseph Guarnerius Fecit ˜ Cremone Anno 1742 I.H.S.) the violin was crafted by the Italian luthier Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri in the 17th century in Cremona.

Compared to other violins, this incredible instrument has some substantial constructive differences: the belly is in fact thicker compared to other violins and the tailpiece is one centimetre shorter than the standard as well as the neck length (128.5mm instead of 130mm). At that time the chinrest was not yet in use and Paganini played the violin resting his chin directly on the sound box; because of that a slight abrasion of the paint is now visible in the lower left part of the instrument. As other scratches and marks on the body suggest, it looks like Paganini used to move the bridge in order to adjust the string length according to his playing needs. 

Since 1851 the instrument has been housed in Genova, Paganini’s birthplace, inside Palazzo Doria Tursi.It is exhibited in a dedicated room, the ‘Paganini Room’, inside the museum where visitors can also compare it with a fine copy made by the french luthier Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in 1834. It was donated to the city by Achille Paganini, the son of the musician himself, as declared by his testament.

As of today, The ‘Cannone’ is still in excellent overall condition: it retains its original neck and the varnish has never been polished. Of course strings have been changed over time and it is now fitted with a set of plain gut strings, as the great virtuoso would have played it. To preserve its integrity and check the conservative status, a team of scientists is constantly monitoring the environmental condition of the room and checking the conservative status of the instrument. Recently a pool of experts valued this instrument over 80 million euros, making it one of the most expensive violins on the planet alongside several Stradivari’s and other Guarneri’s.

Every year players come to Genova from all over the world to perform at Paganini Competition where the main prize is the privilege to play a whole concert on the "Cannone" by Paganini himself.