Torre del Lago, historic garden of Villa Museo Giacomo Puccini restored

On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the Villa Museo Giacomo Puccini in Torre del Lago will unveil to the public the renovated historic garden overlooking Lake Massaciuccoli, which has been restored thanks to a careful landscaping and botanical intervention sponsored by the Simonetta Puccini Foundation. On the occasion of the European Night of Museums, the event will culminate with Melodiando fino a sera, a long musical marathon open to all, with performances on pianos that belonged to Giacomo Puccini, to immerse oneself in the atmosphere of the mansion, between memory, music and nature. After careful botanical and landscaping renovation work, the historic garden of the Villa Museo Giacomo Puccini will be presented in a renewed guise. It is a space deeply connected to the life and inspiration of the Maestro, who spent more than 30 years here, composing some of his most famous works.

The project, conceived and coordinated by the Simonetta Puccini Foundation with the important contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca and numerous private patrons, is the result of athorough historical-archival investigation. Through period photographs, documents, letters and coeval descriptions, it has been possible to combine historical fidelity, botanical sensitivity and sustainability, reconstructing the 19th-century design of the garden without giving in to the temptation of simple formal replication.

The garden is configured as an elegant Italian-style parterre, in harmony with the lake landscape. Original elements, such as the crown of holm oaks along the border, the spectacular blooms of wisteria and bignonias, and the geometric structures outlined by boxwood, have been retained and enhanced. The ornamental palms so beloved by Puccini return to the center, flanked by flowering varieties-including geraniums, old roses, daisies, carnations, and fuchsias-selected according to the tastes of the time and documented evidence. The intervention also included the preservation of existing plants and the restoration of the original conformation of the flower beds, returning the garden to its original function: a place of beauty, meditation and artistic inspiration. Puccini himself called it “my perfect refuge,” a peaceful space from which he loved to watch the lake and listen to the music of nature.

With this important work, the Simonetta Puccini Foundation further enriches the Villa Museo, offering the public and scholars a new element in understanding the composer’s life and work through the places that most deeply reflect his creative sensibility.

The official presentation ceremony of the restored garden will be held on Saturday, May 17, at 12 p.m. Participants will include Mayor of Viareggio Giorgio Del Ghingaro, Giovanni Giannone of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Lucca and Massa Carrara, Massimo Marsili (President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca), Fabrizio Miracolo (President of the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano) and Giovanni Godi (President of the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini), among others.

Concluding the day will be the Villa Museo, which from 6 p.m. to midnight will participate in the European Night of Museums with the event Melodiando until evening. The public will be welcomed into the house as Puccini’s friends once were, in the famous room overlooking the garden-which he called “Omnibus,” or “for everyone”-where music was heard, cards were played and hours were spent in the company of others, respecting the only rule imposed by the Maestro: no whistling or humming, so as not to disturb inspiration.

During the evening, various pianists will take turns without interruption - and without a specific set list - on two of the composer’s original instruments: a maple Steinway piano and the imposing August Förster with the initials “G.P.” engraved on it. Among the musicians who will perform are Lorenzo Corsaro, Marco Dal Carobbo, Silvia Gasperini, Luca Logi, Chiara Mariani, Mario Pasqua, Arianna Presepi and Michele Renna, who will freely take turns at the piano, evoking the convivial and creative spirit that animated Puccini’s home.

Photo by Michele Cordoni.

Torre del Lago, historic garden of Villa Museo Giacomo Puccini restored

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