Join me on my summer holiday as I travel (mostly) through Italy—as always, in search of beautiful sites, sculpture and all things sculpture-ish.
Lucca is a handsome, human-scaled Tuscan city, still encircled by its original Renaissance era brick wall. It is also the birthplace of composer Giaccomo Puccini (1858-1924) who wrote popular operas including La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot. Puccini was one of nine children and he was raised in a family with music in its blood. His father (and grandfather, great grandfather and great-great grandfather) was the "Maestro di Capella" at Lucca's Cathedral of San Martino (since the Middle Ages, an important stop for pilgrims working their way to Rome). Little Giaccomo probably would have followed in his forefathers' footsteps except that he was only six—too young to work—at the time of his father's death. The boy did, however, sing in the boys' choir and occasionally filled-in playing the organ.
The bronze sculpture, shown above, shows the seated composer positioned in the Piazza Cittadella, just in-front of Puccini's birth home. It was made in 1994 by sculptor Vito Tongiani (born 1940).
We'll continue our summer holiday tomorrow.
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