Italy is staging a series of special events on Friday to mark the centenary of the death of the great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, known worldwide for operas such as Tosca and Turandot. One century after his death in Brussels aged 65 on 29 November 1924, productions of the composer's beloved operas will be performed in Italy and in opera houses around the world.

Italy is releasing commemorative coins and stamps in homage to Puccini whose other great works include La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West and Manon Lescaut. Italy's anniversary celebrations are centred in the Tuscan town of Lucca, where Puccini was born on 22 December 1858, with a year-long festival in his honour.