Giacomo Puccini's places

Activities included

• guided tours with an experienced guide

Not included in the program

• anything not mentioned in "activities included"

Puccini Museum - Birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, Corte San Lorenzo in Lucca

Comfortable shoes and sportswear are recommended.

Starting from € 200 per person (min 2)

We offer an itinerary that will allow you to learn about the history and places of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. The itinerary includes 3 main stops: Lucca, Versilia and the middle Serchio Valley.

LUCCA. 2.2 KM on foot
1.The Birth House is the starting point of the city itinerary, in Corte San Lorenzo, in the terziere of San Paolino. The house is now the museum that collects documents, memories, thoughts and atmospheres of a life fully lived. 2. The church named after San Paolino, can be reached in a few minutes by walking down the street of the same name, on the right. It was the parish of the Puccini family, and it was here that the young Giacomo made his debut as an author with one of his end-of-academic-year essays. 3. We retrace our steps to Piazza San Michele where stands the church where the young Giacomo gave organ lessons to what was his only pupil. 4. From here along Via Roma, we reach the very central Via Fillungo, which, in Puccini's time, was dotted with the beautiful store windows of Art Nouveau stores, and we pause at the Antico Caffè Di Simo. 5. Passing the church of San Frediano, we turn right onto Via Busdraghi to reach Piazza San Pietro Somaldi; here the church preserves the precious organ whose restoration Puccini once famously financed and affixed to it, in a corner, his autograph signature. 6. Walking through the side alleys to the square, we reach Amphitheater Square. 7. Leaving the south gate, from Via Canuleia we catch a glimpse of the plume of holm oaks at the top of the Guinigi Tower. At the foot of the Tower we turn onto Via Sant'Andrea and then Via Sant'Anastasio. 8. The street is flanked by the large Conservatorio building where the young Puccini studied.9. Leaving the Conservatory behind and walking down Via Santa Croce, Piazza Bernardini, Corte del Gallo and then Via del Battistero, we arrive at the Cathedral of San Martino, a treasure trove of art and tradition. 10. Leaving the Cathedral, we reach Piazza del Giglio and its theater.On his return to Lucca as an acclaimed composer, Puccini personally attended to the staging of his operas and was also acclaimed and appreciated here.

VERSILIA. 38 KM by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, car.
1.Our itinerary begins with a visit to the Villa Puccini Museum in Torre del Lago. 2. A few steps away is the Giacomo Puccini Grand Open-air Theater where the opera festival dedicated to the composer, one of the most relevant internationally, is celebrated every year. 3. When our visit is over, we move on to Massaciuccoli, where in the center of the town we find the entrance to the ancient Roman villa that overlooked the waters of the lake: a large mosaic and the remains of the Venulei dwelling and baths trace its history. 4. On the shores of the lake, surrounded by a park of exotic plants, stands Villa La Piaggetta of the Ginori Lisci family, which Puccini reached by boat across the lake.A magnificent example of Art Nouveau architecture, today it is open for hospitality. 5. From here, still in the Art Nouveau style, we move on to Viareggio. 6. At the beginning of the promenade, another Puccinian place is the Gran Caffè Margherita, one of the last works of the eclectic-déco period that today houses a bookstore and a café: the mantle of the domes is made of polychrome ceramic scales from the Fornaci San Lorenzo manufactory as are the small columns of the balustrade of the large terrace on the top floor. 7. A couple of kilometers further north, behind the imposing and magnificent Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte on Viale Buonarroti, we end our journey at Villino Puccini, where the composer moved in 1921 and where he composed much of his last unfinished opera. Also linked to this residence is the name of Galileo Chini: he is responsible for both the ceramic masks that decorate the facade. Chini will also sign the sets for Turandot.

MEDIA VALLE DEL SERCHIO. 58 KM by bicycle, motorcycle, car.
Among the places of main interest in the Maestro's life, an in-depth visit to Media Valle del Serchio cannot be missed. 1. We start from the house-museum in Celle dei Puccini, a hamlet of Pescaglia. 2. After the visit, we move on to nearby Colognora, which was the main set of Spike Lee's film “Miracle at Sant'Anna.” The village perched on the mountains of Pescaglia has strong ties to the great composer Alfredo Catalani, Puccini's fellow music student. A section of the Museo del Castagno is dedicated to him. 3. Before leaving Pescaglia, it is a must to stop at the 19th-century Teatrino di Vetriano, nicknamed “La Bomboniera,” certified by the Guinness Book of Records in 1997 as the smallest historic public theater in the world, acquired in the same year by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano, which, thanks to careful restoration, has made it accessible again. Today it hosts many performances, including Puccini's operas. 4. Another Puccinian place is Castelvecchio Pascoli, in Barga, where the Casa Museo Giovanni Pascoli, where the poet lived from 1895 to 1912, can be visited. The house is nestled in a striking landscape that opens onto the Apuan Alps mountain range. The frequent relations between Puccini and Pascoli are documented. 5. Followed by a walk through the historic center and to the cathedral of what is recognized as one of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages. 6. The last stop in the Media Valle del Serchio is Bagni di Lucca where Puccini loved to stay, with the historic Casino and ancient thermal baths, the Circolo dei Forestieri, and numerous villas and historic palaces.