“Qual occhio al mondo”. Puccini photographer
An important selection of photography works by the great composer never seen before
From 16 February to 1 April 2024
Sala dell’affresco of Complesso di San Micheletto in Lucca
Entrance from Via Elisa no. 8
From Tuesday to Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Special opening Monday 1 April
Free entrance
The Fondazione Ragghianti, in collaboration with the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini in Torre del Lago and the Centro studi Giacomo Puccini in Lucca, and with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, presents the exhibition “Qual occhio al mondo”. Puccini photographer, dedicated to one of the unknown passions of the famous composer: photography.
The exhibition, curated by Gabriella Biagi Ravenni, Paolo Bolpagni and Diana Toccafondi, will be open with free admission from 16 February to 1 April 2024 at the Sala dell’affresco of Complesso di San Micheletto in Lucca, entrance from via Elisa no. 8.
Thanks to the material kept in the Archivio Puccini in Torre del Lago, and in small part in other collections, more than eighty original photographs will be shown, which will give life to a one-of-a kind experience: a fascinating path which allows the visitor to observe the world through the lens of the composer.
The photographs of the first section substantiate the places Giacomo Puccini usually frequented, from Torre del Lago to Chiatri, from Boscolungo to Ansedonia, with a focus on his own houses. A selection of original shots, together with an album created by the composer, will be on display while further unpublished images will be digitalised and reproduced for the exhibition. The second section will be dedicated to the composer’s tours around Europe, the Americas and Egypt, with a special attention to views, populations and sea crossings.
The exhibited photographs are generally realised with the aristo-type technique and are mainly panoramic, a format due to the camera used by Puccini, a rare Kodak model that will be on display. A further section of the exhibition will highlight the composer’s portraits (taken by others) and photographs concerning the private dimension of the artist, in his daily life and with his family.
“This year marks the centenary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, who, in addition to music, cultivated, with great curiosity, some other artistic passions”, commented Alberto Fontana and Paolo Bolpagni, president and director of the Fondazione Ragghianti. “We are pleased to offer, to celebrate this anniversary, together with the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini and the Centro studi Giacomo Puccini, an unprecedented point of view on a universally known artist, in line with the approach that always characterizes the Fondazione Ragghianti. The exhibition outlines an unexpected profile of the great composer, through the selection of peculiar and significant shoots, privileging the criterion of the novelty of materials. The free admission is a gift that, thanks to the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, we wish to offer to the city and to all visitors who want to know a new and surprising aspect of the great composer born in Lucca”. Giovanni Godi, president of the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini, expresses his satisfaction “at making available the photographic material preserved in the Archivio Puccini in Torre del Lago and at collaborating with the Fondazione Ragghianti and the Centro studi Giacomo Puccini. The exhibition is in fact, the result of a synergy that allowed us to discover a less known passion of the Maestro, with the hope that it can be followed by many other initiatives”.
On the occasion, Edizioni Fondazione Ragghianti Studi sull’arte will publish a catalogue, containing the reproductions of all the photographs exhibited and texts by Gabriella Biagi Ravenni, Paolo Bolpagni, Manuel Rossi and Eugenia Di Rocco.
For further information
Image Building
Cristina Fossati, Federica Corbeddu, Alessia Zanotti
fondazioneragghianti@imagebuilding.it
Tel. +39 (0)2 89011300
Elena Fiori
elena.fiori@fondazioneragghianti.it
Tel. +39 (0)583 467205