Achille Befani Formis (Naples 1832 - Milan 1906)
Oil on canvas, c. 1890

Shown here is the house in the village of Le Roncole, near Busseto in the Province of Parma, in which Verdi was born on 9 or 10 October 1813 to Carlo Verdi (1785-1867) and Luigia Uttini Verdi (1787-1852). At the time of his birth, the area was occupied by the French, which is why his name was registered in French (Joseph Fortunin Franà§ois) at Busseto's town hall.

The painting was probably made when the composer was already famous; in fact, a peasant woman at the door is showing the humble house to an elegant lady who is protecting herself from the sun with a parasol.

Giovanni Gaibazzi (Parma 1808 - 1888)
Oil on canvas, c. 1832

It was thanks to a scholarship from the Busseto merchant Antonio Barezzi (1788-1867) that Verdi was able to carry out his musical studies in Milan.

Later, even at the most difficult and saddest moments in the composer's long career, Barezzi was always close to him and supported his decisions. In 1836 Verdi married Barezzi's daughter, Margherita (1814-40), who gave Verdi the brief happiness of paternity (Virginia, 26 March 1837-12 August 1838; Icilio, 11 July 1838-22 October 1839) before she, too, died prematurely on 18 July 1840, in their apartment in Via San Simone (now Via Cesare Correnti) in Milan.

Gaibazzi's portrait, in which Verdi's father-in-law and benefactor (“my second father,” the composer called him) is portrayed at a mature age, was very dear to the Master; he kept it in his bedroom at Sant'Agata.

Giovanni Boldini (Ferrara 1842 - Paris 1831)
Oil on canvas, 1882

The painting was kept at Villa Carrara Verdi at Sant'Agata. It portrays the conductor Emanuele Muzio (1825-90), Verdi's friend and only pupil, who had conducted Rigoletto and Il Trovatore in Cairo. He spent much time in Paris, often as Verdi's guest. Here, he became friendly with Boldini, who, in 1882, decided to depict him while he was intent on conducting. The painting was shown to Verdi, who praised it and agreed to the painter's request to paint his portrait as well.

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