Lost Puccini Villa frescoes rediscovered during restoration

A cycle of decorative paintings thought lost has been uncovered at the Villa Museo Giacomo Puccini in Torre del Lago, Viareggio. The frescoes, created between 1905 and 1910 by artists Galileo Chini and Plinio Nomellini, were hidden beneath silk wall coverings for decades. The discovery came during a restoration project by the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini, which involved removing the fabrics from the first-floor salon. Nomellini's figures had blackened over time due to humidity from the nearby lake, leading to the belief that nothing remained beneath the cloth. Archival photographs in the Puccini archive confirmed the existence of the decorations. The villa was originally a guard tower purchased by composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), who lived there for 30 years, composing works including Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West, and La Rondine between 1900 and 1918. Puccini personally oversaw the villa's transformation with architects Luigi De Servi and Giuseppe Puccinelli. The paintings will be studied and documented before the silks are rehung. The villa, turned into a museum in 1925 by Puccini's son Antonio, houses a Förster piano, a Japanese screen, and Macchiaioli paintings. The public can view the frescoes daily until the end of August.