present form emerged in early 16th-century northern Italy. The earliest pictures of violins, albeit with three strings, are seen in northern Italy around 1530, at around the same time as the words "violino" and "vyollon" are seen in Italian and French documents. One of the earliest explicit descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, is from the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyon in 1556. By this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe. The violin proved very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility; the French king Charles IX ordered Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. One of these "noble" instruments, the Charles IX, is the oldest surviving violin. The finest Renaissance carved and decorated violin in the world is the Gasparo da Salò (1574) owned by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and later, from 1841, by the Norwegian virtuoso Ole Bull, who used it for forty years and thousands of concerts, for its very powerful and beautiful tone, similar to that of a Guarneri. "The Messiah" or "Le Messie" (also known as the "Salabue") made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford. The most famous violin makers (luthiers) between the 16th century and the 18th century include: The school of Brescia, beginning in the late 14th century with liras, violettas, violas and active in the field of the violin in the first half of the 16th century The Dalla Corna family, active 1510–1560 in Brescia and Venice The Micheli family, active 1530–1615 in Brescia The Inverardi family active 1550–1580 in Brescia The Gasparo da Salò family, active 1530–1615 in Brescia and Salò Giovanni Paolo Maggini, student of Gasparo da Salò, active 1600–1630 in Brescia The Rogeri family, active 1661–1721 in Brescia The school of Cremona, beginning in the second half of the 16th century with violas and violone and in the field of violin in the second half of the 16th century The Amati family, active 1550–1740 in Cremona The Guarneri family, active 1626–1744 in Cremona and Venice The Stradivari family, active 1644–1737 in Cremona The Rugeri family, active 1650–1740 in Cremona Carlo Bergonzi (luthier) (1683-1747) in Cremona The school of Venice, with the presence of several makers of bowed instruments from the early 16th century out of more than 140 makers of string instruments registered between