Arturo Toscanini's Birthplace

If the name is only vaguely familiar, this is the career the house documents:

• 1867: born here, March 25. He later studied cello at the Parma conservatory.
• 1886: aged 19, a cellist in a touring company in Rio de Janeiro, he took the podium when the scheduled conductor resigned, and conducted Aida.
• 1892 to 1926: conducted the world premieres of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (Milan, 1892), Puccini's La boheme (Turin, 1896) and Puccini's Turandot (Milan, 1926).
• 1898 to 1929: principal conductor, then music director, at La Scala; seven seasons at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, 1908 to 1915.
• 1931: on May 14, in Bologna, he refused to conduct the Fascist anthem Giovinezza and was beaten by Blackshirts.
• 1937 to 1954: first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, created for him in New York.
• 1957: died January 16 at his home in the Bronx; buried in Milan's Cimitero Monumentale.

The museum is the family home, and the city describes its rooms as telling his life and career, from his musical triumphs to his political engagement, through objects and documents the family donated. The Bologna episode and his refusal to work under Fascism are part of that story, not a footnote.

Two things to look for:

• Family portraits by Arturo Rietti. In 2023 the city bought three works by the Trieste portraitist: pastel portraits from 1908 of the violinist Enrico Polo, Toscanini's friend and brother-in-law, and of the singer Ida De Martini, sister of Toscanini's wife Carla; and a reproduction of Rietti's 1933 portrait of Toscanini, signed by the conductor for his nephew and niece.
• A sculpture by Paolo Troubetzkoy of the composer Alfredo Catalani.

For visitors who prefer pictures to captions, the museum has published an illustrated comic-book guide, Nella casa di Arturo.

Honestly, only just. This is a documents-and-objects house museum, not an immersive one, and it assumes you know who Toscanini was. If you already love opera or orchestral music, it is an easy yes at €4. If you are curious about Italy under Fascism, his story is a good way in. If neither applies, you will be done in 20 minutes.

The better argument is the combination. With a ticket from here, the Teatro Regio guided tour costs €8 instead of €12, so the house effectively pays for itself. The Casa del Suono and the Museo dell'Opera are on the same city pass. Our music walk strings them together.

Reduced rates apply to over-65s, ages 19 to 25, university students and some members' schemes. With the Camera di San Paolo closed for restoration until an expected spring 2027 reopening, the pass covers five open museums at €4 each. It saves money only if you visit at least four. For most people, buy single tickets.

• Access: there is a goods lift for visitors with reduced mobility, used only with museum staff, and an accessible toilet.
• Groups: up to 20 people, booked by email at [email protected] or by phone.
• Rules: no smoking, and no food brought in or eaten in the rooms.
• Phone: +39 0521 031769.
• Buying tickets: at the desk, which also sells the city pass, or online through the city's Ticketlandia shop. The management warns it is not responsible for tickets bought on other websites.

Combine it with Parco Ducale, a few streets north, and our Oltretorrente walk. In January 2024 the city's music institutions marked the 67th anniversary of his death here.