Chiesa di San Pietro Somaldi

San Pietro Somaldi is a Romanesque church in Lucca with a long connection to the Puccini family. Its thirteenth-century façade and historic organ preserve both the city's architectural heritage and a distinctive musical tradition.

Why it matters

The church's history reaches back to a foundation in 763, attributed by the city to Summual. The building also figures in Lucca's musical history: Antonio, Domenico and Michele Puccini served as organists and chapel masters, and Giacomo Puccini played here as a young musician.

What to notice

The façade combines two-tone sandstone with a blind loggia and carved capitals. The central portal's architrave depicts Christ giving the keys to Saint Peter; it is signed and dated 1248 by Guido Bigarelli da Como. Inside, the three-nave space rests on square pillars. The Cacioli organ, restored in the early twentieth century by Filippo Tronci, bears Giacomo Puccini's signature on its wind chest.

Context and history

The church was rebuilt in the late twelfth century, with the façade taking shape in the second half of the thirteenth century. The apse and upper part of the bell tower were completed in the fourteenth century. The organ was restored while preserving much of its earlier material, and Puccini is recorded as having helped finance work on it.