Panoramic view from above of the green garden of Villa Reale di Marlia. On the left is the villa. In front of the villa is the English lawn, and to the rear is the water theater with statues and fountains. In the center is the laurel avenue leading to the Clock Tower, and on the left is the fishpond with the lemon grove. Surrounding the garden are the olive groves.

Villa Reale

A perimeter wall almost as long as the city walls of Lucca, 16 hectares of parkland arranged on a steep slope, and several buildings make up the architectural promenade of the park of the Royal Villa.

The side entrance, from the crescent of the stables, invites you to enter the small forest to gradually discover all the secret corners of the park.

The walkway runs alongside a stream and follows the avenue of camellias, with small waterfalls, bridges, and pools of oriental inspiration; the small mound, which can be climbed along the spiral path for a panoramic view of the park; the small music gazebo, enveloped in the scent of wisteria and lime trees in the summer. Finally, the pond, which occupies the lowest point of the park and reflects the compact volume of the villa and the entire scenic backdrop formed by the grassy slope and the volumes of the trees. The path ascends, on the right, toward the Bishop's Villa with its nymphaeum and the small Italian garden nestled at the foot of the terrace in front of the villa. A large lemon house and the internal courtyard betray the original agricultural purpose of this building, so well integrated into the park. Just beyond, Pan's Grotto, the large nymphaeum decorated with small stones, glass, and cast iron blocks, where the water features are still active, alludes to a natural grotto and invites you to rest.

A side staircase leads to the Art Nouveau garden, the last architectural feature built in the vast enclosure of the park, where the traditional camellias are replaced by more exotic water lilies and bougainvillea.

Finally, we reach the villa, where the route becomes richer, and in a rapid sequence, one gate after another, we discover unexpected perspectives, as if in a fantasy game: the architecture of the large fishpond, the laurel avenues, the lemon garden, the green theatre carved in boxwood, the jet fountain, the water theatre, and finally the villa itself. A compact and relatively restrained structure, yet pierced by countless openings.

img credits: R. Giomi / G. Panico