The province of Lucca is the ideal destination for music lovers! Many illustrious musicians have lived in this area.

GIACOMO PUCCINI

Giacomo Puccini was born in the heart of the city of Lucca on 22 December 1858 where the Puccini Museum now exists, Giacomo Puccini's Birthplace.

The house appears today as it did at the time when young Giacomo lived there, who spent the years of his childhood and early youth there. Inside there are original furnishings, objects that belonged to the musician, such as the piano with which he composed the famous opera entitled Turandot. In front of the entrance to the Puccini Museum it is also possible to admire the bronze statue of Giacomo Puccini by the artist Vito Tongiani.

To get to know the places where the great musical genius lived, it is suggested to also visit the Villa Museum of Giacomo Puccini in Torre del Lago, a place dear to the master who settled there for a long period of his life from 1891 until his death. In this elegant house, many of his most famous works were born, such as the Tosca, the Madama Butterfly and La Rondine. The house retains its original appearance intact with the rich decorations created by prestigious artists such as Luigi De Servi, Galileo Chini and Plinio Nomellini. The villa holds many memories of the life of the great musician, objects of everyday life, prizes and honours.

Thanks to the Giacomo Puccini Foundation, the Lucchesi Worldwide Association and the Friends of Giacomo Puccini's Houses Association, the "Houses of Memory" project was created, of which the Puccini itinerary is part.

LUCCA

Lucca was not only the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini but also hosted other artists of great value such as Luigi Boccherini and Alfredo Catalani, who are nationally recognized. A commemorative plaque on the Birthplace in Via degli Asili and a monumental bronze statue on the San Paolino bulwark are dedicated to the musician Catalani. The Piazza della Magione instead houses the monument dedicated to Carlo Angeloni, a pupil of Michele Puccini (Giacomo's father) and in turn a teacher of Giacomo Puccini and Alfredo Catalani. Other composers have been linked to the city of Lucca, you can learn more about their music here; you can find out all about these great characters on the monuments and plaques dedicated to them.

CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERTS

In Lucca there is also the Lucca Classica Music Festival, organized in the spring, promoted by the Lucchese Music Association. Between Garfagnana and Mediavalle the theatrical and musical review called Serchio delle Muse is also hosted, a series of appointments with the operas of the masters who made its history.

LIGHT MUSIC CONCERTS

Lucca still comes alive with music today thanks to the Lucca Summer Festival which annually hosts internationally renowned artists. Some concerts are also organized in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana where the Mont'Alfonso event under the stars takes place. This initiative was born more recently but thanks to the beautiful Mont'Alfonso Fortress in which it takes place and the talented artists hosted it is enjoying great success.

JAZZ

Barga, Lucca and Massarosa, in addition to hosting some of the museums of the system, also organize numerous jazz events every year. In July, the Barga Jazz festival takes place in Barga and fills the streets with its unmistakable sound, while in June the municipality of Massarosa organizes the Massarosa Jazz Fest. Autumn instead hosts the Lucca Jazz Donna, an exhibition dedicated to extraordinary female artists of great talent.

MUSIC FOR EVERYONE

And it doesn't stop there! The Museum and Archaeological Complex of the Cathedral of Lucca also organizes concerts of sacred music, the Viareggio Carnival Museum lets us relive the cheerful music of the Carnival, and at the Italian Museum of Folklore Imagination and the Popular Traditions Center it is possible to rediscover the tradition of the "Maggio" singers. The Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte in Viareggio also hosts an exhibition of about 400 ancient musical instruments collected by Giovanni Ciuffreda.

What are you waiting for? Come to Lucca to breathe the magic of music!