Painting of The Birthplace
history
Detail from Giuseppe Verdi’s birth certificate – “Book of Births” 1813
history
Francesco Bossi – Organ of the Church of San Michele Arcangelo – Roncole di Busseto – 1797
history
Giuseppe and Francesca, the first Verdis to live in this house.
It is 1781, still thirty years away from the birth of the greatest composer in contemporary history: Giuseppe Verdi.
This house already exists, with its walls and its sloping roof. Sure, it is not exactly the way we see it today, but it is undoubtedly very similar.
In that year Verdi’s grandparents, Francesca and Giuseppe, decide to rent the house in order to continue their work as innkeepers here. The place needs a lot of work, the oven is unusable and an amazing number of cockroaches comes through the broken floors. Thus, in 1783, renovation work begins.
The baton is passed on to Carlo and Luigia.
A few years later Giuseppe dies and Francesca decides to carry on her husband’s trade with the help of Carlo, Giuseppe’s future father. The inn and the management of the whole place are now in his hands and he works very hard to keep intact the good reputation gained by his father. It is at this point of the story that the meeting which will change forever the destiny of music takes place: in 1805 Carlo marries Luigia, the very young daughter of the Uttini family in Saliceto. From this union Giuseppe Verdi is born on October 10, 1813.
The childhood of Giuseppe, a little boy with incredible musical talent.
Carlo and Luigia soon become aware of the incredible musical gifts of their first born. The young boy grows quickly, and is a quiet and well-behaved child. He only ever disobeys his mother for one reason: in order to listen to music.
Thus Giuseppe’s musical studies begin. His father buys him a second-hand spinet, and on this he practices what he learns from Pietro Baistrocchi, the elderly organist of the San Michele church who has decided to pass on his musical knowledge to him.