Villa Puccini is a cultural site in
Torre del Lago
Torre del Lago (Tower of the Lake) is a town of almost 11,000 inhabitants, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, between the Lake of Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The Festival Puccini, a ...
, near
Viareggio
Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca.
It is known as a seaside resort as ...
in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, Italy. It is a museum dedicated to the composer
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...
, who lived here from 1900 to 1921.
History and description
From 1891, the composer and his family spent summers at Torre del Lago. Puccini bought a property in 1899 on the shore of
Lake Massaciuccoli
Lake Massaciuccoli (Lago di Massaciuccoli in Italian) is a lake in the Province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Its surface area is 6.9 km². It is located mainly in the municipality of Massarosa and partly in Torre del Lago, a civil parish of Viar ...
, and it was renovated, becoming his permanent residence. He worked here on many of his operas, from ''
Manon Lescaut
''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a Ma ...
'' (first performed in 1893) to ''
Il trittico
''Il trittico'' (''The Triptych'') is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, ''Il tabarro'', ''Suor Angelica'', and ''Gianni Schicchi'', by Giacomo Puccini. The work received its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 14 December ...
'' (1918).
["Villa Puccini"]
Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
He moved to Viareggio in 1921, where he began his last opera ''
Turandot
''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...
''. He died in 1924 in Brussels, after a throat operation.
[
Giacomo Puccini's son Antonio turned the building into a museum in 1925. The composer was buried in 1926 in a chapel created by Antonio in the villa.][
The composer's granddaughter ]Simonetta Puccini
Simonetta Puccini, born Simonetta Giurumello (2 June 1929, Pisa16 December 2017, Milan) was the last surviving acknowledged descendant of the composer Giacomo Puccini. She dedicated her life to her grandfather's memory, and owned and restored the ...
became the owner of the villa in 1996. The Simonetta Puccini Foundation was established in 2005; an objective was to restore the villa to its appearance when inhabited. The composer's two pianos in the villa, by Förster Förster or Foerster is a German surname meaning "forester". (It has often been Anglicised as Forster). Notable people of this name include:
Förster
* Arnold Förster (1810–1884), a German entomologist
* August Förster (physician) (1822–18 ...
and Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...
, were renovated in 2010. There was restoration in 2012 of the roof and of the façade, which regained its original colour of about 1900. In 2015 the bedroom of Giacomo and his wife Elvira was restored to its appearance in 1905, when the composer renovated the furnishings in shades of green; other room on the upper floor were also restored. In 2017 the parquet floor of the dining room was restored.["Foundation"]
Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
Auditorium and Archive
The Simonetti Puccini Auditorium, inaugurated in August 2021, is in a building next to the villa. It seats 99; concerts, conferences and other events may be held.[
The building also houses the offices of the Foundation, and the Puccini Archive.][ There are about 28,500 documents in the archive, including about 10,500 letters and 1,500 musical manuscripts, and some 2,100 photographs. There is also the family musical library, that came to Giacomo Puccini from his musician ancestors. Documents may be available to scholars on request."Archive: The Materials"]
Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
See also
* List of music museums
This worldwide list of music museums encompasses past and present museums that focus on musicians, musical instruments or other musical subjects.
Argentina
* – Mina Clavero
* Academia Nacional del Tango de la República Argentina – Buenos ...
References
{{Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...
Music museums in Italy
Museums in Tuscany