Villa Puccini in Chiatri - The villa in Chiatri was the first residence the composer owned personally, excluding the house where he was born in Lucca. After the great success of "Manon Lescaut" and "La Bohème", in December 1898, Puccini bought the old villa of the Samminiati family aiming at completely renovating it. The villa stood in a wonderful place, commanding the coast from Livorno to La Spezia, the Arno and the Serchio rivers, Corsica and, in the most limpid days, the islands Gorgona and Capraia and the area of San Rossore and Migliarino.

Designed by Giuseppe Puccinelli, the villa has a regular plan and the bricks, the Neo-romantic stylistic elements decorating the windows and the polychrome decorations of the first floor and the rest of the façade underline its strong Tuscan character.

The main façade presents a symmetrical design and a little marble staircase. The interior, featuring a big study and some small living rooms, is furnished with light and lacquered furniture in Liberty style, created by the famous Florentine factory "Berardi e Tedeschi".

With its wide garden, the villa should have been an oasis of peace for the composer to relax. Actually, due to his wife Elvira`s opposition, Puccini spend there only a few days, excluding a several weeks` stay in 1908, when he composed almost all the first act of "La Fanciulla del West" (The Girl of the Golden West).