Villa Puccini is a cultural site in
Torre del Lago, near
Viareggio
Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca.
It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...
in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, Italy. It is a museum dedicated to the composer
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...
, 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 ( ) 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, including its parish of Massaciuccoli, and partly in Torre del Lago, a parish o ...
, and it was renovated, becoming his permanent residence. He worked here on many of his operas, from ''
Manon Lescaut'' (first performed in 1893) to ''
Il trittico'' (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 #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...
''. 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 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 and ]Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...
, 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 list of music museums offers a guide to museums worldwide that specialize in the domain of music. These institutions are dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of music-related history, including the lives and works of prominent musicia ...
References
{{Authority control
Giacomo Puccini
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 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 line of composers, s ...
Music museums in Italy
Museums in Tuscany