A friendship blossomed between neighbors: that of composer Giacomo Puccini and Marquis Carlo Ginori Lisci. The former lived in Torre del Lago, a beautiful village in Versilia that now bears his name, while the latter resided in the neo-Gothic mansion on the opposite shore of Lake Massaciuccoli from Villa Puccini.
This very large villa, spanning over 4,000 square meters divided among various buildings set within more than ten hectares of gardens, is currently on the market for 7 million euros.
35 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and a clubhouse
The Marquises Ginori Lisci, founders of the eponymous porcelain factory in Doccia, in the province of Florence, purchased Lake Massaciuccoli and the surrounding land in 1887, transforming an existing building into a grand neo-Gothic villa: towers, mullioned windows, loggias, and a red-brick facade embellished with marble details.
Along with the main house, there are eight other buildings, including a lemon house, a consecrated private chapel, and a clubhouse converted from a boathouse, which is directly accessible via the numerous canals that crisscross the large garden.
The boat entrance is perhaps one of the villa’s most fascinating features, thanks to the Art Nouveau-style frescoes by Francesco Fanelli—an artist from Giovanni Fattori’s circle—featuring floral and Oriental motifs.
Surrounding the buildings is a vast garden crisscrossed by navigable canals and small ponds teeming with water lilies, ducks, and fish.
Giacomo Puccini and Carlo Ginori Lisci: Their Friendship and the Dedication of *La Bohème*
Giacomo Puccini, who lived on the opposite shore of the lake, often visited Villa Ginori, forging a close friendship with Marquis Carlo and his daughter Maria Bianca, a great music lover.
The composer from Lucca, between hunting expeditions on the vast estates of the Marquises Ginori Lisci, composed the libretto for his new opera: *La Bohème*, which premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1896.
The vast gardens, the beauty of the apartments, and the pleasant company made the villa a true creative haven for Puccini, who dedicated the score of *La Bohème* to his dear friend and neighbor, Carlo Ginori Lisci.
The connection between Villa Ginori, Puccini, and Milan
The ill-fated love story of Mimì and Rodolfo was set to music by Puccini not only at Villa Ginori and in his home in Torre del Lago, but also in Uzzano in the Pistoia area and in Milan, where Puccini frequently visited Giulio Ricordi, the publisher of his opera librettos.
Puccini had graduated from the Milan Conservatory and remained very attached to the city, which at the time was the true nerve center of Italian opera, thanks in part to the presence during those same years of Giuseppe Verdi, who chose to be buried in the nursing home he had founded in Piazza Buonarroti.
An interesting fact: many years after her uncle’s adventures in Milan, a beloved niece of Puccini became a true star of the Milanese fashion scene: Elvira Leonardi Bouyeure, known by the nickname “Biki”—a name coined by Puccini himself.
