Villa Museo Giacomo Puccini

About the museum

Giacomo Puccini arrived in Torre del Lago in June 1891 with his wife Elvira and son Antonio, while he was writing Manon Lescaut. The place, on the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli and rich in game, became his summer retreat and then his home: in 1899 he bought an old watchtower with the gamekeeper’s house and had it transformed into a villa in the Liberty (Art Nouveau) style, where the family lived for more than twenty years. Works such as La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, La rondine and Il trittico were composed here.

When the air of the lake was spoiled by a peat-fired power station, Puccini moved to Viareggio, where he began Turandot, left unfinished at his death in 1924. In 1925 his son Antonio turned the villa into a museum, and in 1926 the composer was buried in a chapel created from a small sitting room; today his wife, his son, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter Simonetta also rest there.

The rooms retain their original appearance: the sala omnibus houses the Förster piano, portraits of the maestro, the death mask and a Japanese screen; other rooms hold manuscripts, honours, paintings by Macchiaioli artists who were friends of the family, and the hunting room with guns and trophies. Since 2019 the “Puccini Segreto” route has also opened the first floor, with the couple’s bedroom and the study. The villa is run by the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini, founded in 2005 at the wish of his granddaughter.

Highlights

• Förster piano in the sala omnibus
• Death mask and portraits of the maestro
• Chapel with the tomb of Puccini and his family
• Hunting room with guns and trophies
• “Puccini Segreto” route on the first floor, with bedroom and study
• Bookshop in the old garage, with the wheels of the maestro’s cars

Permanent exhibitions

• Casa museo di Giacomo Puccini – Original rooms of the villa with the piano, portraits, manuscripts, hunting memorabilia and the composer’s funerary chapel.
• Puccini Segreto – First-floor visit with the couple’s bedroom, the maestro’s study and the guest rooms.

Founded

1925

Operated by

Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini

Visitors per year

approx. 17,653 (2022)

Admission & discounts

The admission ticket includes the ground floor; the “Puccini Segreto” visit also includes the first floor.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

On the ground floor the only step has a ramp; the “Puccini Segreto” route on the first floor has two flights of stairs. Welcome in Italian Sign Language is available.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The villa is on Viale Puccini in Torre del Lago, on the shore of Lake Massaciuccoli.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop set up in the villa’s old garage, reserved for museum visitors. Animals are admitted if carried in arms or tied up in the garden.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit