If in Torre del Lago the Maestro had founded the “Club della Bohème,” in Viareggio he was president of the “Club Gianni Schicchi”, founded in 1919 and composed of eminent citizens who gathered in the bar of the same name, on the promenade: Giovacchino Forzano, Enrico Pea and Icilio Sadun.

There are reports of the production of a single work by Puccini in Viareggio, before 1924: La fanciulla del West, staged at the Teatro Politeama on 9 September, 1923.

From the early years of the 20^th century, the local news reported in Viareggio the presence of numerous artists and celebrities who enriched the intellectual and social life with their presence.

Privileged place of meeting was the Gran Caffè Margherita. A plaque placed in 1949, on the 25^th anniversary of the death of Puccini, commemorates that particular environment:

During the first quarter of the century
illustrious men
including
Marconi Giordano Toscanini
and dear friends of the Maestro
Italians and foreigners
gathered at this table
chosen by
Giacomo Puccini
as a meeting place
to relax in simple civil conversation
after the daily toil
around his immortal art.