Stalking Puccini

Our next day trip was on Easter Sunday. We drove north from our home base of Lajatico (birthplace of the tenor Andrea Bocelli) into even the more operatic territory of Lucca and Torre del Lago.

Lucca is a small city ringed by medieval walls and a moat. The center of the city is a vehicle-free (mostly) pedestrian zone, perfect for the Sunday afternoon ritual of the passegggieta -- a relaxed stroll with friends, usually including good food and drink. We found the birthplace of the composer Giacomo Puccini (La Boheme, Tosca, Madam Butterfly, Turnadot) and had a delcious meal inside the formjer Roman amphitheater, now a colorful flower market.

Then we drove west to the coast to visit Torre del Lago, a lakeshore where Puccini lived in a small villa. The tour of the villa includes the entire ground floor where we saw, among other things, beautiful (but not lavish) art nouveau tile and furnishings in the living areas, the desk and piano where Puccini composed his operas, his gun room, and a small chapel where he and his family are buried.
https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Lucca?authkey=Gv1sRgCMz3nq_ttJS_8AE#5600989566307046290