Torre del Lago Puccini is on a peaceful lake by the Tuscany coast, near Viareggio and Pisa. Puccini, the famous composer, built a villa on the lake at Torre del Lago where he wrote most of his operas and eventually his name was added to the town's name. Today visitors can tour the Puccini villa museum that holds memorabilia from his life and the chapel where he's buried.
Torre del Lago Puccini's big draw is the summer Puccini Festival in the open-air theater overlooking the lake where the operas were written. In addition to operas, concerts and ballets are performed in the arena. The 2009 Puccini festival starts 10 July with La Boheme and includes Tosca, Turandot, and two ballets in August performed by the Moscow Ballet. There's a pre-season open house 13 - 14 June with free performances during the day and evening. We'll be there on Saturday.
More: Torre del Lago Puccini Travel Guide
Location: Versilia Coast Map
Pictures: Torre del Lago Puccini Pictures on Europe Travel
Puccini Festival Theater photo © 2009 by Martha Bakerjian, licensed to about.com
I love the setting for opera at the Puccini Festival when it was in the outdoor theatre… how does the new indoor theatre compare? acoustics? glamour? Mary Jane
The Puccini festival is held in the outdoor theater, overlooking the lake. I think it’s a fairly new theater, opened a couple years ago, probably replacing the old outdoor theater. I haven’t been in the indoor theater. We’re going Saturday for the open house so I’ll take a look inside.