Improving the Acoustics of the Church of Saints Marcellino and Pietro in Cremona (Italy) for Musical Performances

Churches are spaces designed with a unique acoustic identity, which is intimately connected to the oratory and musical needs of the historical period in which they were built. For instance, their typically long reverberation time is appropriate to specific uses, such as liturgical functions and choral music performances, but it may impair the repurposing of the space for other functions. Indeed, an acoustic environment suitable for choral or sacred music may not be compatible with other musical genres such as chamber music, solo performances, or small instrumental ensembles, which require greater clarity and frequency-balanced acoustic properties. In such cases, careful analysis of the environment and specific acoustic conditioning become essential steps to enable the space to be used for novel purposes, without compromising its artistic and historical integrity. In this work, we analyze and improve the acoustics of the church of Saints Marcellino and Pietro through space-time acoustic measurements and simulations. After developing and validating our model, we propose various solutions to optimize the church acoustics, transforming it into a functional concert hall while preserving its original identity and artistic grandeur.