Beniamino Gigli (1890–1957), born to a cobbler's family in Recanati, became one of the great tenors of the first half of the twentieth century — a singer often spoken of as Caruso's natural successor, with a particular gift for the bel canto repertoire and a singing voice that recordings still convey with something close to the original force. The small museum in his name preserves a substantial collection of his memorabilia: stage costumes, contracts, signed photographs from leading opera houses, programmes, and a continuous loop of his most famous recordings.
The museum is set within the Teatro Persiani complex on Piazza Leopardi and is normally entered as part of a combined ticket for the theatre. Half an hour is enough to take it in. Even visitors with no particular interest in opera will find the recordings hard to walk past.