Wed 26/6

Bagni di Lucca: A spa town that Puccini played in as a broke student. Mirror like reservoir in a steep, lush valley. We went into a doctor�s home with yet another Puccini-touched piano. The living room had a strategically framed view of the opposing valleyside, and was lavishly decorated with trompe l�oeils of marble, plaster mouldings and wallpaper.
The doctor took us to a sweet, gentle retired general�s home, whose grandfather was friends with Puccini. His house is a living collection of memorabilia. Every wall is covered: sepia-toned family photos from the 19th c, medallions of all sizes and ages, family china, copper pots and pans, souvenir knives from every corner of the earth. He wanted to show us anything and everything. Amidst all his treasures, he took out the death mask of Puccini from some mysterious dimension. The interior of the house itself was also a feast on the eyes; cameo friezes, more trompe l�oeils, Tiffany styled lampshades, plush antique chairs, dark musty colours, crocheted linen drapes.