Simonetta Puccini

Simonetta Puccini, born Simonetta Giurumello (2 June 1929, in Pisa[1] – 16 December 2017, in Milan[2][3]) was the last surviving acknowledged descendant of the composer Giacomo Puccini. She dedicated her life to her grandfather's memory, and owned and restored the composer's home, Villa Museo Puccini.[2]

Simonetta Puccini in 2005

Heir to Puccini

Giacomo Puccini's only son, Antonio, had no children by his wife, but fathered an illegitimate daughter, Simonetta Giurumello, who was born in 1929. She graduated from the University of Milan and was a teacher until 1973.[4]

The composer had died in 1924, leaving a large fortune in property and royalties. In 1995, after a legal battle that started in 1980, Simonetta was proven to be Antonio's daughter and was assigned one-third of her grandfather's (now greatly diminished) estate, which included his villa in Torre del Lago, and took his name.[2] The remainder of the estate remained in possession of its original heirs, who were not related to the Puccini family.[5]

Another claimed heir, Nadia Manfredi, believed her father Antonio to be Puccini's illegitimate son, but her case was not proven, and was opposed by Simonetta.[6]

Dedication to composer's memory
Villa Puccini in Torre del Lago Puccini

After taking ownership of the Villa Puccini, she established a non-profit "Friends of the Homes of Giacomo Puccini" to restore and maintain it. She established the Puccini Foundation in 2005 to help restore the home to appear still inhabited, and to promote other causes associated with the composer.[4][7] By 2016, she had also opened the composer's rooms to the public.[8]

She was also known for attending performances and exhibitions associated with the composer around the world.[4] According to a statement on her death by the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini, she "dedicated her life with passion and devotion to the memory, protection and enhancement of the image of her grandfather and the places he loved".[2]

Bibliography

Among works written or co-written by Simonetta Puccini are:

  • Weaver, William; Puccini, Simonetta (1994). The Puccini Companion. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-32052-7.

References
  1. LOC file
  2. "È morta Simonetta Puccini, l'ultima nipote del compositore" [Simonetta Puccini, the composer's last descendant, has died]. la Repubblica (in Italian). 17 December 2017.
  3. "Remembering – and Understanding – Simonetta Puccini" by Fred Plotkin, WQXR-FM, 28 December 2018
  4. Neil Genzlinger (26 December 2017). "Simonetta Puccini, Keeper of the Composer's Flame, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  5. "Quella lite infinita per l'eredità di Puccini. 'Il testamento è nullo'" [That endless quarrel for Puccini's legacy. "The will is null"]. la Repubblica (in Italian). 4 December 2016.
  6. "Scandalissimo! Puccini's sex life exposed". The Independent. 5 July 2008.
  7. "O mio nonno caro – Simonetta Puccini died on December 16th", The Economist, 4 January 2018
  8. Villa Puccini website
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