Jackie Shafer:

In its nearly 300 years of existence, the instrument traveled to the United States on only four occasions, to San Francisco in 1999, to New York City in 1982 and 2003, and this spring to Columbus, Ohio, where it was displayed for one week only at the Columbus Museum of Art.

The Paganini violin was owned and played by the celebrated 18th century virtuoso Niccolo Paganini, often referred to as the Devil's Violinist. Upon his death in 1840, he bequeathed his violin to the city of Genoa, where it lives on permanent display in City Hall under tight humidity and temperature controls.

Today, tourists from all over the world travel to Genoa to view, but not hear the renowned instrument.