Giacomo Puccini and his Home Town

Lucca and music are an inevitable combination, even more so if we think about Lucca’s most illustrious and celebrated son, Giacomo Puccini. Not only was he born in town, but Lucca is also where his personality and artistic sensitivity were formed, giving rise to his many operatic masterpieces. An impassioned and intensely emotional voyage to the places where he grew up, studied, and celebrated his success.

Meet the guide at the Tourist Information Centre. First, a historical introduction to Lucca where music, thanks to an intensive cultural activity, has accompanied the lives of the citizens of this ancient Tuscan town since medieval times.

• Visit the Renaissance Church of San Paolino, the parish church of Giacomo Puccini. Among the many works of art, there is one of the first organs that the Maestro played as a young boy.
• Stop in Piazza Cittadella by the commemorative bronze statue erected near Puccini’s place of birth and visit the museum (see Information and Costs).

After the museum, head for the centrally-located Piazza San Michele and then continue to Piazza Napoleone. The late-Renaissance palazzo, which flanks the square, is where the government of the former Republic of Lucca was located. Many celebratory concerts in honor of the Republic would be performed in the building, written by the various chapel masters, many of whom were ancestors of Giacomo Puccini.

• Visit Teatro del Giglio, the public theatre of Lucca (reservation required subject to availability of the theatre).
• Visit the Cathedral of San Martino.

Stroll through the town’s narrow medieval streets with particular attention to the shops that were dear to the Maestro.

• Stop at the music conservatory, named after another famous composer of Lucca, Luigi Boccherini. Thanks to this important musical institute, not only the Puccini family, but new generations of musicians are being educated and formed to embark upon a serious and prestigious musical career.

It is possible to organize a mini concert, featuring Puccini’s music, in one of various settings (see Information and Costs) at the end of the tour.

INFORMATION:
The tour includes a visit to the Museum Giacomo Puccini, his birth place, (entrance fee not included in guided tour).
The group can, in advance, book a small concert of Puccini music in one of the following places: Teatro del Giglio, Auditorium of the Boccherini Musical Institute, or an organ concert in the Church of San Pietro SomaldI (cost to be determined at time of booking).