Historical Background
The ๐ฃ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ family , who had settled in Lucca in the first half of the 18th Century, moved to ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ in ๐ญ๐ด๐ญ๐ฑ, after the sudden and premature death of ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ ๐ฃ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ, Giacomo's grandfather. This was probably the wish of Domenico's young widow, ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฬ, so that she could be closer to her brother Arcangelo, who lived on the first floor of the same building. The Cerรน family would play an important role in Giacomo's upbringing. In fact, ๐ก๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ผ, ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ผ's son, provided him with moral and material support. At the time of the transfer, the family consisted of the old ๐๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ, Giacomo's great-grandfather, his wife ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ถ, their daughter Angela, ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฬ, and her children Giacomo (who died young), Chiara, and Michele, Giacomo's father, and a servant.
The home of a family of musicians
Giacomo Puccini was born in this house on 22 December 1858 and was also baptised there the following day, with special permission, perhaps because he was in danger of dying. He was given the names of all his musical ancestors: Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele (and Secondo Maria), to summarise the entire family tradition.At the time of his birth, the house was inhabited by his parents, Michele and Albina Magi, his grandmother Angela Cerรน, his sisters Otilia, Tomaide (the third-born, Temi, had lived less than a year), Maria Nitteti, Iginia, and a โservantโ, Assunta Menconi. A year later, another sister, Ramelde, was born, another โservantโ, Carola Martinelli, was hired, and later Macrina was born and finally, after the death of his father, Michele Jr.
The legacy
It is in this house that Giacomo lives ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ, until the death of his father Michele on January 23, 1864, and ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ and ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ต, during which his mother Albina followed the education of all her children with admirable determination, despite having to cope with a very difficult economic situation.Even though in the fall of ๐ญ๐ด๐ด๐ฌ Giacomo moved to ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ to continue his studies at the ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, this is still his home.
๐๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ญ๐ณ, ๐ญ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐. By then, Giacomo and Michele Jr. were living mainly in Milan, and their sisters had all married (except for Iginia, who had become a nun). The property passed to Giacomo and Michele Jr., since their sisters had renounced their inheritance in favor of the sons.
Sale and repurchase
In ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ญ๐ด๐ด๐ต, due to economic difficulties, Giacomo and Michele Jr. decided to move to London. ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ, but they have a special clause inserted into the contract, that ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ.More than once, in his letters to his brother Michele, who had meanwhile emigrated to South America, Giacomo recalls: ``๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฎ``. However, it was only after the great success of ๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ช๐ฉ in 1893 that Puccini was able to make use of the special clause, despite Raffaello's resistance, which is evident from some of the composer's letters:
'I am truly sorry that the house where I was born is being sold to others' 'I will reclaim my house as soon as possible. I am sorry to have to write against your wishes, but my affection for my native roof makes me rude to youโ and again โI care about the four cracked walls, the warped beams, even the rubble of my house, and I beg you not to insist any further on this matter because you would upset me. I will redeem my house, you can be sure of that`` โI love where my parents were born, and for all the gold in the world, I would not give up my father's roof.โ Finally, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐, ๐ญ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ Giacomo (Michele Jr. had died prematurely in 1891) ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐.
A strong bond
The house continued to be rented out, however, and Puccini, who was often away, relied on the ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ, ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ to follow the various ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ and the normal ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ, including condominiums.Here is what he wrote to Ramelde a few years later:
'As for the house, do as you see fit. But since Raffaello might come to stay with me for a week, now that he is passing through Lucca, on his way back he could take a look at the house and the builder, etc. There is not much work to be done and, as for the kitchen beam, I think it will last for centuries. I have seen it. The house needs cleaning and the kitchen floor and passageway urgently need repairs. The problem is the stairs and the loggia. Raffaello needs to come to an agreement with the neighbours and have the plaster scraped off the stairs so that they can be whitewashed; and all those tools (who do they belong to and who put them there? Perhaps the cooper?) that are in the loggia. It is indecent and, if they do not want to remove them, we must have them removed by the competent authority. There are windows: (some) need to have their glass replaced'.
Despite his great love for this house, Puccini never lived there again.
The house after the Maestro's death
Upon Puccini's death, ownership passed to his son Antonio (with Elvira retaining usufruct), then, upon Antonio's death (1946), to his wife, Rita Dell'Anna.In ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ, crowning a series of initiatives by the Municipality of Lucca โ mainly the ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ผ ๐ฃ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ฏ โ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐นโ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฎ donates his birthplace to be transformed into a museum.
The museum, set up by the Giacomo Puccini Foundation with furnishings, paintings, documents and memorabilia donated separately by Rita Dell 'Anna, ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ข๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ต.
The Birthplace Museum today
Since then, the museum remained open, with brief periods of closure, until autumn 2004, when the Giacomo Puccini Foundation launched a restoration and refurbishment project, the main objectives of which were to restore the original layout of the rooms and recover the decorative elements on the walls.With the ruling that assigned ownership of the property and the collection contained therein to Simonetta Puccini, the work was interrupted (end of 2005).
At the end of 2010, the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca Foundation purchased the property and the collection. At the same time, it decided to entrust the museum to the Giacomo Puccini Foundation and to finance the completion of the interrupted work and the new layout,
according to the project already defined previously. ๐ข๐ป ๐ญ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ. ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ - ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ 2011
Restoration
When, in 2003, I was approached by the Giacomo Puccini Foundation, which at the time was already managing the Maestro's birthplace, to rethink the layout and draw up a restoration project, I accepted the assignment with enthusiasm and, together with Gabriella Biagi Ravenni, director of the Foundation, we began to review the entire layout of the house through the documents found up to that point, trying to reconstruct the environment in which Giacomo Puccini had lived.
First phase of restoring the original rooms
The house was completely whitewashed, without false ceilings, and with a visitor route that made it impossible to understand the layout of the rooms and their functions.
The furnishings, in addition to those donated by Dell’Anna, which came from houses that belonged to the Maestro, had been supplemented with totally incongruous elements that gave a misleading impression of the house.
From the sparse descriptions found in Giacomo’s letters, it was impossible to understand the tone of the house, even though the old floor plans suggested an elegant apartment.
We decided to start a campaign of tests on the walls, which we believed must have preserved some decorations. We were greatly surprised to see that, room after room, decorative elements from various periods appeared under the whitewash, but all attributable to the period in which the Maestro lived. This confirmed our hypotheses about the functions of the various rooms in the house, finding absolute correspondence with the words written in the Maestro’s letters.
Access to the apartment was thus restored in the hall as it was in Giacomo’s time, and this richly painted room from the early 19th century immediately gives us an idea of the decorative style of the house, which, as can be seen today, was very elegant.
During the cleaning work, some cracks appeared, prompting us to carry out a structural survey of the walls and floors, which unfortunately revealed a very serious situation affecting not only the birthplace but the entire building. A project to consolidate the building was drawn up by the engineering firm of Stefano Caramelli, which halted the restoration work on the decoration and refurbishment in order to give priority to dismantling the floors, consolidating the beams and installing chains to restore solidity to the perimeter walls, which were in danger of collapsing.
The interruption of the redevelopment work
At the end of the aforementioned works and during the restoration of the dismantled floors, the works had to be interrupted due to a court ruling that established the transfer of ownership from the Giacomo Puccini Foundation to the Maestro’s granddaughter, Simonetta Puccini.
A few years later, she transferred ownership to the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, which had already contributed to financing the work carried out on the house up to that point, and which renewed the commission to the author in order to complete the refurbishment.
Work thus resumed, the flooring was completed, the toilets were redone and the restoration of the decoration was completed.
The help of architect Leonardo Casini was fundamental in completing this phase. The Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca commissioned him to complete the work according to the project originally drawn up by myself and Gabriella Biagi Ravenni.
The reopening of the museum after its acquisition by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca
The decision to reopen two blocked-up doors and rebuild a wall demolished in the mid-twentieth century completed the faithful reconstruction of the Maestro’s house, which we furnished with appropriately restored furniture that belonged to the Puccini family. integrating the reconstruction of the rooms with new elements such as stained glass windows that transform two rooms into veritable exhibition spaces, bringing some of the display cases already present in the old layout up to standard and creating completely new ones to be placed in the two rooms dedicated to the exhibition of documents. Adjacent to the house is a modest room created in the mezzanine, serving the kitchen, where the attic from La Bohรจme has been reconstructed, thanks also to the active collaboration of the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca.
In rearranging the house, we distributed the family’s furniture throughout the rooms according to their historical use: dining room, bedroom, kitchen, etc. We also arranged for the curtains to be replaced, choosing them according to the rooms, the colours of the decorations and the style of the period, thus completing the reconstruction of this residence, which today, in addition to displaying the collection of precious manuscripts, rare Puccini memorabilia and an exhibition of excellent portraits of the Puccini family, allows us to understand where the Maestro lived in his younger years.
๐บ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐ (September 2011)