Caro Mi'ele

The correspondence of Giacomo's younger brother, Michele Puccini, presented here for the first time, collects the letters the two exchanged from the years when Giacomo was in Milan and invited his brother to join him to pursue his musical studies at the Conservatory. Not very diligent in his commitment and rather reckless, Michele disregarded Giacomo's expectations and ended up abandoning his composition studies. He then decided to emigrate to Argentina, to practice his profession there and seek success as a musician. Having arrived on the new continent, Michele writes letters that offer a picture of rare immediacy of the customs, people, musical environment and activities of the large Italian community overseas. The letters paint an interesting picture of Michele's character and personal affairs through the dense exchange with a rather wide circle of acquaintances and illuminate little-known aspects of his interlocutors, including, above all, members of his family circle. But they are also a clear testimony to the rich interweaving of correspondence and ties - based on a strong network of solidarity between people - that the emigrant community maintained with the native country.