Puccini itinerary

In the Lucca area, his homes, musical instruments, objects, atmospheres, flavors, and colors that were dear to him and that inspired his creativity and imagination can be found in many corners of the region. From the villages nestled in the woods of the Serchio Valley, to the historic center of Lucca, to the lush hills of the Lucca area, to the luminous coasts of Versilia.
Many public and private institutions preserve the memory of the Maestro, along as many stages of an itinerary that connects the various Puccini sites.

In the small mountain village of Pescaglia Cells (now Puccini Cells)At number 51 Via dei Meletoli, the front door of the elegant sixteenth-century building opens. The ancestral home is a beautiful stone house, nestled among chestnut groves and cool streams, where young Giacomo would go with his parents and sisters for summer vacations, and to which he remained forever attached. Thanks to the generosity of the daughters of Ramelde, Giacomo's favorite sister, who donated many precious heirlooms, the ancient residence is now a rich museum: photographs, letters, portraits, musical scores, opera librettos, posters, the phonograph donated by Edison, and the piano on which part of "Madame Butterfly" was composed.

Even before finishing his studies, Giacomo Puccini frequented the nearby Bagni di Lucca to play piano in a small dance band at the Teatro Accademico, the Casino, and the Sala Ducci in Ponte a Serraglio. After more than a decade, Puccini returned to Bagni di Lucca several times as a summer vacationer, like every wealthy Lucchese of his generation, at the Grand Hotel delle Terme, where he composed the second act of La fanciulla del West.

In Lucca, there are many places linked to the life of the Maestro.
Inside the sixteenth-century walls, the first stop is certainly the home, Christmas of Corte San Lorenzo, not far from Piazza San Michele. The piano on which "Manon Lescaut" was composed is kept here, as is the sumptuous costume worn by Maria Jeritza, a memento of the opera's premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York (1926). Small, intimate spaces where there's always room to welcome important guests, families, and children, with many cultural activities to discover a fantastic world of music and art.

Then you can proceed to the Basilica of Saints John and Reparta where he was baptized; St. Martin's Cathedral where the Puccinis were organists for generations;'Boccherini Music Institute where he left many of his documents. And still churches, like that of Saint Paulinus where he made his debut on 12 July 1880, at the end of his studies at the “G. Pacini” conservatory with the “Messa di Gloria”, a composition that he would quote several times in his later works or the Church of San Pietro Somaldi where, while still a student, he performed on the organ which, once famous, he had restored at his own expense.
And last but not least, the Giglio Theatre where he personally supervised the staging of many of his works.

Tosca, La Fanciulla del West, La Rondine, Il Trittico and La Turandot, the haughty or enamoured voices of “his women” echo in the Lake House of Massaciuccoli, that "dear bozzo" who loved him for the tranquility and the brilliant atmospheres that inspired his work. The villa in Torre del Lago tells the story of a curious, creative man, with a refined artistic sensibility combined with a strong passion for life that translated into frequent excursions on the lake on small boats or with the modern motorboat of which he was proud, in sumptuous dinners in the company of friends at the Boheme club or at the Villa Ginori Lisci, in afternoons spent at trendy cafe of Viareggio, on the Art Nouveau promenade of the early 900s.