A deep love lasting over thirty years linked Giacomo Puccini to the charming hamlet of Torre del Lago, which then was then renamed Torre del Lago Puccini to the pride of all its inhabitants. When the great Lucca’s composer first arrived here, at the end of the 19th century, he was searching and he found a picturesque and quiet place where his creative genius could spring out. Puccini immediately liked the Lake and the small village, whose houses were mirrored in the blue-grey waters of Massacciuccoli lake, less than two kilometres far from the sandy beaches of Versilia, and the inhabitants welcomed him enthusiastically. Puccini composed in Torre del Lago his main operas, among which Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), La Fanciulla del West (1910), La Rondine (1917) and Il Trittico (1918). The Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago takes place every summer during the months of July and August, in the very places that inspired Maestro Puccini’s immortal melodies. The Festival saw its first light in 1930 and over the years has become an increasingly prestigious event which each year attracts tens of thousands of spectators from all over the world. At the Puccini Festival, you can appreciate the great stars of opera, under the direction of the most important conductors, and admire the extraordinary stagings executed by most famous directors of Puccini’s operas. The Great Open Air Theatre with 3,400 seats, dedicated to Maestro Puccini, opens onto the picturesque Massaciuccoli Lake and is surrounded by a park of extraordinary charm that houses works of art by great contemporary sculptors. Just a few steps away is the house where the Master lived and composed. Today, in the Villa-Mausoleum his remains are preserved and you can admire the glorious relics that in life surrounded and accompanied the artistic career of this great artist.