Giacomo Puccini's House

Proceeding along via Fillungo, the main axis of the old town, as we reach Corte San Lorenzo we come into a delightful square, where our attention is immediately attracted by the bronze statue of Giacomo Puccini, the renowned citizen of Lucca who lived from 1858 to 1924 and is famous the world over.

His memories are scattered throughout the province of Lucca, especially at the charming home of Torre del Lago, a place loved by the musician. His house in Lucca, which had belonged to his family since 1815 and where Puccini spent his childhood, is linked to his first studies before he moved to Milan, with the heritage of an entire family of musicians behind him.

At the beginning of his career he was not considered particularly gifted as a composer and did not achieve success until the age of thirty-five. Giacomo Puccini was a person with wide-ranging interests and was known for introducing references to historical melodrama, as in Tosca, or unmistakable exotic features, as in Madam Butterfly.

But he was an all-round character in his life too; as well as being a lover and creator of music, he had a passion for hunting, speed and engines (he was the inventor of the first off-road vehicle and was one of the first drivers to be granted a licence in Italy), pursuits which led to a serious accident and, in the case of the unrenounceable pleasure of smoking, to his death.

His Tuscan residences preserve the memories of the composer and in particular, in the house in Corte San Lorenzo at Lucca, we can see the piano on which he composed Turandot, drafts and costumes, as well as letters and a large part of the family photos.