Mario Lanza Museum
Columbus House  
712 Montrose Street 
Philadelphia, PA 19147 
(215) 238-9691
www.mariolanzainstitute.org

This museum does a fabulous job of presenting the life and works of Mario Lanza through a variety of exhibits and artifacts. 

Mario was born in 1921, just two blocks from his museum. Drawn to music at an early age, he frequently listened to Enrico Caruso on the family's Victrola and soon began singing along and studying the operatic plots. His mother, Maria Lanza Cocozza, recognizing Mario's talents, went to work to pay for voice lessons for him. Some years later, while singing in Philadelphia, Mario was recognized by the famous conductor, Sergei Koussevitzky. The rest is history. 

Among Mario's many great accomplishments he starred as his childhood idol in the box office hit, The Great Caruso. The Museum tells this story and much more, through photographs, memorabilia, paintings, gold records, and other items. Videos of his films are shown daily. 

Groups are welcome, as well as individuals. School Groups will find a visit helpful for any study of music or the entertainment industry. Mario Lanza fans will be in seventh heaven in the Museum's gift shop. Dozens of audio and video recordings are available for purchase, as well as a wide variety of memorabilia. It's all very reasonably priced and can even be purchased through the mail. Call for a catalog.