Stradivarius Palatinos

The term "Palatino" can in this case be translated as "court" instruments,[1] as it refers to their belonging to the Spanish royal collection.

Four of the five are decorated instruments known as the Royal Quartet (also referred to in Spanish as Palatino or Coral): they comprise 2 violins, a viola and a cello.

An ensemble of 2 violins, a viola and a cello is what is referred to in classical music as a string quartet, and many works have been written for this combination since the 18th century.

The project to provide instruments for the Spanish court evidently envisaged a different ensemble, as instead of having only one viola, the set originally included two.

[3] It is unusual in being decorated, although a tenor viola in Florence (discussed below) is adorned with the Medici crest on the fingerboard.

[8] In January 2025 the instruments left the Royal Palace with a police escort for the short journey to the Teatro Real.

There they were played in a concert given by the Cuarteto Casals in aid of districts which suffered in the "dana" (the 2024 Spanish floods).