Museo dei Puccini a CelleCELLE PUCCINI – PESCAGLIA |
Via Meletori, 27 – 55064 Celle Puccini (LU)
www.luccchesinelmondo.it www.comune.pescaglia.lu.it |
Contatti:0583 359488 – 339 6486878 |
Perhaps not everyone knows that Giacomo Puccini, whose operas are amongst the most loved and performer in every corner of the world, was the last member of a long musical dynasty, handed down from father to son, over 5 generations. Founder of the Family was Giacomo or Jacopo Puccini, who was born on 26th January 1712 in a big old house in the little hamlet of Celle di Pescaglia, and who, while still young, moved to Lucca, where after finishing his musical studies in Bologna, reached the top of the musical society by becoming organist in the cathedral and Maestro of the Palace Chapel: other Puccinis who followed were Antonio, Domenica, Michele, Giacomo’s father and Gacomo, the last Puccini musician in Lucca. The house and land in Celle remained in the Puccini family until the premature death of Michele Puccini when his wife Albina was forced to sell it to maintain her numerous family. Nonetheless Giacomo spent many joyful and carefree childhood holidays there so much so that the little hamlet of Celle remained in his heart and was often mentioned as we can see in the letters to his sister Ramelde. He returned there for the last time on the 26th October 1924 less than a month before his death, for a ceremony in his honour during which a memorial plaque was put up on the façade of his ancestral home, that house which in 1973 became once again the “house of the Puccini Family”.
Thanks to the generosity of the daughters of Ramelde, Albina and Nelda, who donated a wealth of precious memorabilia and to the awarness of the “Associazione Lucchesi nel Mondo” who acquired the property, ancestral home of the Puccini family, it has become a museum that over the years has continued to be enriched and improved up to its complete restoration in 2008, on the occasion of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Puccini and to the last valuable acquisitions: these donations by the Maestro’s descendants date back respectively to 2009 and 2010 of 13 letters and 13 signed musical manuscripts containing drafts for the writing of “Le Villi” and “Edgar”. The museum Puccini di Celle, a complete house museum, is on two floors and has seven rooms displaying photographs signed letters and manuscripts, as well as precious objects belonging to the Maestro through which we can follow the personal and artistic events of his life.