Piero Mantovani's Andrea Amati

In 1558 when Piero Mantovani attempted to steal the first cello created by Andrea Amati, he was cursed. Not by Andrea Amati, but rather the housekeeper. A wizened woman that dabbled, frequently, in magic. It was said that Piero, upon first seeing the instrument, was so overwhelmed with emotion that he had to have it. To possess it. To hold it, and polish it, and more importantly, to play it.

While Piero was quite adept at the violin and viola, it was the dulcet bass that spoke to him. The melancholy sound of the instrument spoke to Piero 's heart; they pulled at him; gave him hope yet at the same time there was a bitterness that was sweet that it near brought him into an ecstatic euphoria. The sound was incredibly amazing.

When he had crept into the small house in which Andrea Amati resided, it had been Piero 's intention to only gaze at it. To perhaps caress it as if it were a living, breathing entity that required a gentle hand and touch. As if it was a lover. A lover that he had a hard time being separated from.

The old woman had seen him reach out, but before he could actually touch it, she had confronted him,

"What are you doing here Piero? The hour is late and you should be home, abed!" It was also said, that the woman, Bianca, had never cared for Piero; thinking him bad and evil. Perhaps Piero was, or not. He had stammered that he wanted to touch it. To caress it. Even as she had confronted him, he had not removed his gaze from it. But when he had murmured that he also wished to play it; to feel its life as it flowed through his fingers via the sound.

"You don 't understand, Bianca," he had whispered, spittle forming at corners of his mouth, as his hands, drawn in front of him, opened and closed as if they were already around the instruments neck, "I need this cello, and it needs me!" The last had been spoken with defiance; his eyes wide as if he had been stricken with a malady in which there was no