Giacomo Puccini, (born Dec. 22, 1858, Lucca, Tuscany—died Nov. 29, 1924, Brussels, Belg.), Italian composer. Born into a family of organists and choirmasters, he was inspired to write operas after hearing Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda in 1876. At the Milan Conservatory he studied with Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–86).