Knowledge of musical culture in relation to local history and the architectural heritage of the city of Viareggio, of which Villa Paolina is one of the most precious pearls, is the basis of the choice to place the collection of musical instruments in this historic building.


Giovanni Ciuffreda, a doctor and music lover, was born in Peccioli in the province of Pisa on January 6, 1923. In the 1930s, he moved with his family to Viareggio because of the anti-fascist ideas of his father, a local doctor. He completed his studies at the 'Carducci' classical high school and then enrolled at the University of Parma in the faculty of medicine and surgery.

In Ciuffreda's heart, however, there is another explosive passion, to which he will be tied until the end of his life. It is music. That wonderful art that he tries to understand by studying the piano and to grasp its sounds through the mechanisms that produce them. He buys the first piece of his collection in 1951: a 1700's piano found in Pisa, but which unfortunately he has to resell, in tears, because it is too bulky.

This is the start of an exciting musical itinerary in many parts of the world together with his wife Mari Moggia, who becomes an irreplaceable advisor and in almost half a century the two researchers put together about 400 instruments that signify peoples and cultures. The result is, we use the words of the collector himself, a sequence of 'instruments from various eras from the 17th century to the present day, of various origins, Europe, Africa, Asia, America. The majority are of popular type, of ethnological value, but classical instruments are also represented'.

The donation project was born in the late 1980s, made official with a letter sent to the mayor of Viareggio on April 30, 1994. Ciuffreda imagined a museum in the historic Villa Paolina and gave his suggestions for the layout to the Amici della Musica, the association he was one of the founders of. A confidence that smacks of premonition and that almost ten years later served as a guide for the arrangement of the Museum.

Ciuffreda died on May 10, 2000. The instruments exhibited in the rooms of Villa Paolina are witnesses to the encounter between art and science, which was the sublime goal of the tireless traveler.

The section of the Museum of Musical Instruments hosts approximately 400 pieces, of which 200 are distributed in six exhibition rooms for a total of 103 m2 of exhibition space.

Villa Paolina (or Palazzo Paolina) is a historic building, located in the city of Viareggio, which belonged to Paolina Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister.

The villa was built in 1822 on the seafront in front of the place (now Piazza Shelley) where, according to legend, the sea returned the body of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who died in Viareggio that same year following a shipwreck; Paolina loved his poems very much and, it is said, she chose the place of construction for this very reason as well as for the proximity to the sea.

The villa, also called 'The refuge of Venus', was inhabited by the princess immediately after its construction so she could live near the man she loved, the musician Giovanni Pacini. Paolina's place of retreat after the death of her brother Napoleon, it was a place of culture as the princess loved to surround herself with artists and musicians.

The villa, which with the expansion of the city over time has become an integral part of it, was reopened to the public after restoration and houses the 'Civici musei di Villa Paolina' and the art gallery dedicated to contemporary art.

The Civic Museums of Villa Paolina represent a cultural treasure of Viareggio, rich in history and diversity. Among them, the Alberto Carlo Blanc Museum and the Museum of Musical Instruments stand out, both with a unique history and imprint in the museum panorama.

The Alberto Carlo Blanc Museum, founded way back in 1975, is a journey into the remote past of northern Tuscany, offering a compelling overview of prehistory through finds, explanatory panels, dioramas and environmental reconstructions. It is a tribute to human life in its earliest forms, an immersion in the ancestral roots of the region.

Next to it, the Giovanni Ciuffreda Museum of Musical Instruments adds a melodious note to the museum complex of Villa Paolina. Its collection, mainly of ethnic instruments, represents a treasure trove of sounds and traditions from all over the world, offering a unique and multisensory experience to visitors.

In the villa’s northern turret, another gem awaits discovery: the atelier of painter Alfredo Catarsini, where the artist worked for over half a century. This space, redecorated to reflect the environment in which Catarsini created his works, is an enchanting stop on the city’s artistic journey. Visits are possible by reservation, offering an exclusive opportunity to come into contact with the creative mind of a master.

Finally, the rooms of the former Lorenzo Viani Art Gallery and the monumental apartment of Paolina Bonaparte, decorated with sumptuous frescoes, are the perfect stage for temporary exhibitions that constantly enrich the cultural offering of Villa Paolina.

Together, these museums and exhibition spaces constitute a vibrant and dynamic cultural heritage, testifying to the artistic and historical richness and diversity of Viareggio and Tuscany as a whole.

In 2003, an event of artistic resonance illuminated the attics of the Villa, shining the spotlight on one of the hidden treasures of Viareggio: the studio of the painter Alfredo Catarsini (1899-1993). This sacred place of inspiration, located in the north tower, was restored to its former glory and made open to the public, offering an unprecedented immersion in the creative universe of Catarsini.

For over half a century, this space has guarded the secrets of art, serving as a sanctuary for the genius of the painter until his last breath. Entering his studio is like crossing a threshold of time, finding yourself enveloped in the Parisian atmosphere of the ateliers of the golden age of art.

Here, every object has a story to tell: the brushes worn by passion, the colors that mix on the stage of the white canvas, the artifacts that reveal the intimacy of a creative soul. The reorganization has preserved the studio as it was when Catarsini left it, allowing visitors to travel through time and space, touching with their own hands the life and art of a master.

Through the traces left by the painter - perhaps a still wet brush stroke on a painting he had started or an open book on a marked page - his rebellious and visionary spirit emerges. Here, between the walls steeped in history, you can breathe the very essence of art, where creativity merges with memory and inspiration is an eternal traveling companion.

La musica del Carnevale di Viareggio e le sue storie.

La musica è un elemento fondamentale del Carnevale di Viareggio.

Dalla prima composizione del 1921, firmata dal Maestro Icilio Sadun e da Lelio Maffei, ogni edizione del Carnevale ha avuto un brano simbolo.

Mentre sempre dal 1921 moltissimi componimenti, dette canzonette, sono stati realizzati sui temi dei carri allegorici.

Brani che ne narravano significati, allegorie, messaggi satirici.

Oggi tutto questo rende unico il patrimonio storico musicale del Carnevale di Viareggio.

Attraverso preziosi documenti originali e audio il percorso espositivo è un viaggio immersivo nella musica del Carnevale di Viareggio, spesso satirica e allegorica, specie quella composta sui temi delle costruzioni in cartapesta.

Una sala sarà dedicata alla 'Libecciata' lo storico complesso bandistico nato nel 1954 e che ha rappresentato il Carnevale di Viareggio per decenni.

Le splendide sale affrescate di Villa Paolina invece saranno la sede ideale per una suggestiva ricostruzione delle straordinarie feste carnevalesche di inizio Ottocento.