On the lake’s shores, near Giacomo Puccini’s villa, every summer (since 1930)  the "Festival Puccini" tales place there, with Artistic Direction for the past three years, of Maestro Alberto Veronesi.

In the course of the years the Festival’s stage has seen the performance of some of the better known protagonists of world lyrics: Tito Gobbi – who did his first directing with "Tosca" -, Mario Del Monaco, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Josè Carreras and more, Renata Scotto, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova, Katia Ricciarelli.

Among orchestra directors the names of Daniel Oren, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Franco Mannino, GianLuigi Gelmetti and many others stand out.

The summer 2001 programme, sees a new stage design for "Turandot", with sceneries, costumes and direction by Ruggero Laganà. Then it will be the turn of "Tosca" in the edition  - presented in the occasion of the Centenary – by Beni Montresor.

In the context of the events tied in with "Italia-Giappone 2001" there will be significant novelties, "Madama Butterfly" – in the 2000 edition – will be on scene in Tokyo, Kobe and Nagasaki.

Set designing is by Kan Yasuda, direction by Vivien Hewitt, costumes by Regina Schrecker, and Maestro Stefano Ranzani will be directing the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the choir of Festival Puccini.