Di Simo Caffè will reopen to celebrate the 100 year mark of the death of Giacomo Puccini, April 6th, 11:30am, with a historic cultural program dedicated to the composer himself. This important caffè hosted many intellectuals and artist between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (see more history below). It is reopening for a limited time through the efforts of the municipal administration, the Brunier Laboratory, the Committee for the Puccini Celebrations and the owners of the Di Simo property, and it is hopped it may become something more permanent.
The inaugural event and ribbon cutting will feature a concert at 11:30 am on April 6th in Piazza Guidiccioni (the ribbon cutting will be on the Via Fillungo side) and is open to the public.
Events are being planned for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, April through May 26th, offering an exhibition, book presentations, concerts and recitals linked primarily to the figure of Maestro Giacomo Puccini. The ground floor of the venue will be used to host artistic, musical, prose and historical performances connected to Puccini’s life. The Municipality will organize these events in collaboration with local associations. See schedule here. Bookings for the first appointments will start immediately after Easter, and are limited to 40 persons per event.
Excerpt by Simone Dinelli, for the Corriere Fiorentino
“The history of the place starts 178 years ago: its opening dates back to 1846 and was called Caffè Carluccio and then Antico Caffè Caselli. Carlo then passed the business to his son Alfredo who, since the beginning of the twentieth century, transformed the place into a meeting place for artists and intellectuals, becoming a cultural flagship and also hosting exhibitions and awards. Events that were certainly not predictable for the time.
Among the club’s frequenters, in addition to Giacomo Puccini, also Alfredo Catalani, Pietro Mascagni, Giosuè Carducci, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Giovanni Pascoli and Enrico Pea.
After the death of Alfredo, before the start of the Great War, the Caffè passed to the Di Simo family. It was under many managements until 2012, when the link with the city was interrupted: years of waiting, with the people of Lucca hoping to see that much-loved place come back to life. Now, a new start.
See full article here, requires log-in.
Please click here for info by Lucca in Diretta, and for the Comune di Lucca announcement here.
Submitted by Christine Stava and Theresa Elliott
