For culture lovers
Featured
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Torre del Lago Puccini (Camping Paradiso - Viareggio)
Originally the village was called Torre del Lago, but in 1938 the name of Torre del Lago's most famous inhabitant, Giacomo Puccini, was added. Puccini had a lakeside villa built with the money he had earned from his operas La Bohème and Manon Lescaut. In Torre del Lago he wrote his famous operas Tosca and Madame Butterfly. Although Puccini died in Brussels, he was buried in his former villa in Torre del Lago. One of Puccini's great wishes was to see his operas performed once more in the open air at the lake. He did not live to see it, but in 1930 his opera La Bohème was performed at the lake. This was the start of the Puccini Festival that takes place annually in July and August. Since 1966 the Festival has moved to a purpose-built open-air theatre on the lake. Puccini's villa is now a museum. During the 40 minutes guided tour one can see among other things the chapel where Puccini is buried. The house is decorated with furniture (Bugatti and Tiffany among others), photographs and relics from the time that Puccini lived here.
Campsites with an emphasis on culture
Camping River Village *
Italian family campground in Ameglia next to Cinque Terre.
Camping Leï Suves* * * *
4 star campsite in southern France on the Cotes d'Azur in Fréjus
Camping Paradiso * * * *
Italian family campground in Viareggio in Tuscany by the sea.