Puccini house under flood watch
Curators race to move antiques, paintings, records to safety
30 December, 17:40
(ANSA) - Viareggio, December 30 - A flood watch
along the Tuscan riviera had opera lovers holding their breath
on Wednesday as water levels remained perilously high near the
lakeside home of turn-of-the-century composer Giacomo Puccini.The maestro's villa on the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli is a pilgrimage destination for thousands of opera buffs every year who come to see where the composer of lyric classics Tosca, Turandot and La Boheme lived and wrote. Torrential rains since Christmas weekend have filled the lake to the brim threatening to flood the house if rains forecast this weekend raise the water level any higher.
A wall of sandbags was stacked in front of the lakeside villa, but the maestro's granddaughter and museum Simonetta Puccini said she wasn't taking any chances Caretakers and volunteers have begun moving the museum's collection of antique furniture, paintings and documents to safety in the event of a disaster.
But civil protection spokesman Bernardo De Bernardinis said that ''efforts to pump lakewater out to sea and shore up its banks have practically eliminated the risk of the lake overflowing''.
''We're looking at the weather forecast at this point with a fair degree of serenity,'' he said.
Fears over flooding have run high after a surge in the nearby Serchio river last weekend punched a hole through a dike near Luca forcing 500 people to evacuate their homes.
De Bernardinis said here as well, volunteers working to repair the breach had stacked sandbags a meter high along the river's banks, ''keeping the risk of more flooding down to a minimum''.
A year-round tourist destination, fears over flooding have put a damper on the region's New Year's plans.
The mayor of Forte dei Marmi, a resort town to the north of Lake Massaciuccoli, said ''alarmist'' and ''irresponsible'' reporting about the flood risk had greatly damaged the local tourist industry.
''Hotels and restaurants here depend on the holidays for 60% of their business,'' said Massimo Mallegni, who threatened to report anyone spreading false information'' to the police.
However, gloomy forecasts in Tuscany have a number of other towns and cities scaling down their New Year's plans.
Several towns have called off their fireworks displays and Prato, a town north of Florence, says it will cancel its traditional countdown celebration.
