Hotel Universo in Lucca, home of the “Universo Jazz Club”, a cultural creation of Marianna Marcucci, which puts on a highly acclaimed and popular programme of jazz sessions with international stars.
The earliest documents date from 1850, when it was the Locanda Universo e Tosca, but the city archives contain references that go back to the eighteenth century. The actual building, Palazzo Paoli, opposite the Teatro del Giglio, was constructed in the sixteenth century. Guests have included John Ruskin, the greatest names of theatre and opera from Maria Malibran and Giacomo Puccini onwards, King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, and the trumpeter Chet Baker, whose name has been given to room 15, where he stayed in 1960. With its antique furnishings, the interior has lost none of its exquisite charm. Cultural activities include jazz and modern art.
