The year that is coming to an end has been marked by worldwide celebrations of the musical legacy of Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) in commemoration of the centenary of his death.

The Għaqda Nazzjonali Każini tal-Banda teamed up with a number of Italian institutions, including the Centro Studi Giacomo Puccini, and organised a series of events. It was as part of this collaboration that the interesting reference to Puccini’s visit to Malta was highlighted by Prof. Gabriella Ravenni. Elements of this story were already published but no effort was ever made to explore Maltese sources to substantiate it.

It was thus a welcome challenge when the president and secretary of the Għaqda Nazzjonali Każini tal-Banda invited me to take up this enquiry and establish the documented story. The outcome confirmed some facts, revealed surprising findings, answered many questions and triggered new ones.

This article is intended to reveal the new findings and encourage debate on the few remaining ‘mysteries’ surrounding Puccini’s short stop in Malta.

What we knew before this research started came from the biography La vita di Giacomo Puccini, written by Arnaldo Fraccaroli (1882-1956) and published in Milan in 1925. In that work, Fraccaroli explains how during Puccini’s stay in Sicily, immersing himself in the culture of the place to determine whether to take up the work on Verga’s La Lupa, he ventured to visit Malta.

Alfredo Caselli, a close friend of Puccini, who was with him on the visit to Malta.

The account reports that Puccini was arrested as he was caught photographing military fortifications. The arrest lasted only a few hours as Puccini was able to convince the authorities that he was not familiar with the military restrictions. This was always considered a true rendition of what happened as Faccaroli was a friend of Puccini and published authoritative volumes about the great composer.

However, the best documentary proof that Puccini visited Malta came in the form of a postcard written and posted from Malta on July 5, 1894, addressed to Guido Vandini in Lucca. The postcard was rubberstamped by the post office in Malta on the same day. It was written by Puccini himself and his close friend Alfredo Caselli, who accompanied him on this trip to Malta.

The jovial messages in it are very typical of the characters of both Puccini and Caselli. While Puccini wrote that they would be in Livorno on Tuesday, July 10, at noon, Caselli sarcastically comments that they had been appointed Knights of Malta (ci hanno fatti Cavalieri di Malta).

This study is revealing for the first time the full details of Puccini’s trip to Malta. Research at the National Archives of Malta has established that Puccini reached Malta from Syracuse on board the steamship Fitzgerald on July 5, 1894. This important document gives us definite proof that Puccini visited Malta. Like all shipping registers held at the National Archives, it gives details of the crew and the passengers: in this case, there were 14 crew members and 19 passengers. Among the passengers there were two Maltese while the others were Italian, listed as either builders, blacksmiths or persons in commerce or trade. Among the passengers we find Giacomo Puccini described as “maestro di musica” and Alfredo Caselli who owned a business.

Passenger list confirming Giacomo Puccini’s arrival in Malta. Photo: National Archives of Malta

The most puzzling find was not Puccini’s arrival, which was almost certain from both the published biography and the postcard, but his departure. Puccini left Malta a few hours later on the same day. He departed on the same ship together with another eight passengers, including Caselli. The ship master was the Maltese Michel Angelo Ruggier, and in his departure, Puccini is not described as “maestro di musica” but as “trafficante”.

Passenger list confirming Puccini’s departure from Malta. Photo: National Archives of Malta

The reason for Puccini cutting short his stay in Malta is still puzzling. The narrative published by Fraccaroli mentioning an arrest and confiscation of his photographic camera after allegedly taking pictures of military installations is questionable. There are no known documents indicating any prohibition of photographing fortifications in Valletta or the surroundings at that point.

We now know that Puccini spent only a few hours in Malta, probably visited the post office to get his postcard stamped and sent, and toured that part of Valletta. Furthermore, in preparation for this article, a thorough search was conducted in the police records held at the National Archives. There is no report of any arrest, occurrence note or even the slightest reference to the camera confiscation.

The records for the period are quite complete, and at times the correspondence with the Customs authorities goes into very fine detail. It is improbable that such an instance, if it happened, was overlooked, considering also the person involved, although one cannot exclude the possibility that such a lack of documenting the occurrence might have actually been on purpose.

Another interesting finding from this research concerns Cleto Bevilacqua, a close friend of Puccini, who was believed to have visited Malta with Puccini. The Customs records at the National Archives exclude this possibility. However, a surprising find was that Bevilacqua did actually visit Malta, but four days later; he arrived on his own on the steamship Paraguay on July 9, 1894.

Passenger list confirming Cleto Bevilacqua’s departure from Malta. Photo: National Archives of Malta

It might have been that the original plan was that they were to meet in Malta, but considering that Puccini returned to Syracuse on the day of his arrival in Malta, there was enough time to inform Bevilacqua that the visit had been cut short. Can it be that Bevilacqua came to Malta to sort out some unfinished business Puccini had left? His stay in Malta was relatively long as he departed for Syracuse on the steamship Augustine nine days later. Only further research can shed light on this.

The Lloyd Maltese listing Puccini’s arrival and departure. Photo: National Archives of Malta

While the story of Puccini’s ‘arrest’ cannot be disregarded, it might have been put together by Puccini himself to cover the real reasons behind the decision to leave Malta on the same day. The political situation during those weeks was quite tense. On June 24, 1894, French President Marie François Sadi Carnot was assassinated in Lyon by Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio. This assassination was reported in detail internationally, and the newspapers in Malta had several features and analyses about it.

Concurrently, the talk of the day in Malta focused on another murder. On June 27, 1894, Prof. Hamilton Stilon shot and wounded Cav. Augusto Bazzoni, the Italian Consul in Malta, after finding him committing adultery with his wife Rosa. Bazzoni died at the Central Civil Hospital on July 10, 1894. The trial of Stilon took place on August 21, 1894. The defence plea that Stilon had acted in defence of his honour, and that his mental condition precluded the possibility of reflection, convinced the jury to return a unanimous verdict of not guilty.

However, this was much more than just a crime of passion. The general rumours were that freemason Stilon was tasked by the Italian Grand Lodge to kill Bazzoni – a former mason who was suspected of revealing certain masonic secrets. It was alleged that Mrs Stilon was a willing accomplice in this plot.

Can it be that Bevilacqua came to Malta to sort out some unfinished business Puccini had left?”

While these two events might not have had any connection with Puccini’s visit to Malta, considering the strong wave of writings and public opinion that both brought, and the Italian political involvement in both, the possibility of a bearing on the urgency to leave Malta by Puccini himself or the local authorities is plausible. Puccini was also a freemason, and the case of Bazzoni means the Italian Consul in Malta was on his deathbed when Puccini entered our harbours.

The new findings clarify further Puccini’s visit to Malta and the reason why there are no photos of it albeit he and Caselli were both photographers. It raises new questions on the real reason for the rushed departure.

This research once again reminds us of the value of archives and how oral narrative can be verified, corrected and amplified using historical documents that are preserved in our archives, open to all and awaiting to be explored and interpreted.

This research was commissioned by the Għaqda Nazzjonali Każini tal-Banda.

Acknowledgements

Anthony Abela Medici, Samuel Azzopardi, Christopher Briffa, Donald Briffa, Samuele Caggegi, Leonard Callus, Noel Camilleri, Caterina Ciccotti, Louis Cini, Simon Cusens, Gabriella Ravenni, Centro Studi Giacomo Puccini.

Charles Farrugia is Malta’s national archivist and head of the Department of Library, Information and Archive Sciences at the University of Malta.