The Monumental Villas

Villa Reale

The 19th-century royal residence of Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi surprises with its water and greenery theatres, a large decorated nymphaeum, camellia-lined avenues, lemon groves, groves, and small music pavilions.

A monumental 19-hectare park, a surrounding wall almost as long as the Walls of Lucca, a landscape where nature, architecture, and historical memory intertwine in perfect balance: the Royal Villa of Marlia is one of the most fascinating places in the Lucca area.

The side entrance from the old stables invites you to lose yourself in a charming trail. A small forest leads to the camellia avenue, flanked by a stream that flows between waterfalls, bridges, and oriental-style pools. A spiral path leads to the panoramic mound, while the music gazebo, bathed in the scent of wisteria and lime trees in the summer, offers a moment of respite immersed in the sounds and scents of the park.

In the lower section, a small lake opens up, reflecting the villa and the scenic backdrop of trees and grassy slopes. Climbing up toward the Bishop's Villa, you'll find its small Italian garden and large lemon house, which betrays the building's original agricultural purpose. A little further on, Pan's Grotto, a large nymphaeum decorated with stone, glass, and cast iron inserts, continues to amaze visitors with its still-functioning water features.

A side staircase leads to the Art Nouveau garden, the last section of the park to be created, where traditional camellias are flanked by exotic water lilies and bougainvillea. The route is further enriched by a sequence of glimpses and perspectives: the monumental fish pond, the laurel avenues, the lemon garden, the green theatre carved from boxwood, the fountains, and the water theatre.

And finally, the villa, sober and elegant, overlooking one of the most extraordinary landscapes of the Lucca countryside.

ADDRESS: Via Fraga Alta 2, Marlia – Capannori
TELEPHONE: 0583 30108
EMAIL: info@villarealedimarlia.it
WEBSITE: www.villarealedimarlia.it

Villa Torrigiani

In 1651, Nicolao Santini purchased a country villa from the Buonvisi family, which had already been the family's summer residence and, for a time, a convent. Subsequent events and changes of ownership shaped its current appearance, and it was Santini himself, Ambassador of the Republic to the court of the Sun King, who suggested the appearance of a small palace.

A long cypress-lined avenue provides the dramatic entrance to Villa Camigliano, a small gem in the surrounding agricultural landscape of the hills. A perfect backdrop for one of Lucca's most significant monumental villas, it captures the eye from afar and, once past the large wrought-iron gate, reveals itself in the exuberant chiaroscuro of the façade with Serlian windows, the array of allegorical statues beautifully arranged in niches and cornices, and the ashlar work and moldings expertly crafted from rustic local stone.

A short staircase leads inside, into the large hall and adjacent rooms sumptuously furnished with fine silk tapestries, the pride and fortune of Lucca's merchants and craftsmen for many centuries and a testament to the court life of the city's aristocracy.

The trompe l'oeil frescoes inevitably evoke the garden, intricate and refined, full of references to French royal gardens, classical allegories, and exotic vegetation, designed with the same care as the building itself. A large English lawn with two French-inspired ponds enhances the villa's volume, and, to one side, the fragrant herb garden, Flora's secret garden, enclosed between a precious nymphaeum and an elegant staircase leading to the fishpond on the garden level.

STREET ADDRESS: Via Gomberaio, 3 Camigliano – Capannori
PHONE: 0583 928041 - 349 6206847
EMAIL: villatorrigiani@villeepalazzilucchesi.it
WEBSITE: www.villeepalazzilucchesi.it

Villa Mansi

The entrance to the park, on one side of the villa, passes through the stable courtyard. From here, small waterfalls lead to the larger fishpond, an elegant and soft design, a balustrade protected by statues of sylvan creatures, the last remaining element of the garden designed in the 700th century by Filippo Juvarra. Not far away, hidden among the trees, is the small grotto of Diana's bath, replacing the more traditional nymphaeum. Finally, the light and delicate volume of the villa emerges against the backdrop of the English garden, among the large historic trees that line the lawn.
An elegant and refined design, with delicate chromatic alternations and light chiaroscuro vibrations of the volumes of the double-ramp staircase, the large central portico, and the lowered and slightly projecting lateral bodies created by the architect Muzio Oddi, when the villa belonged to the Cenami family.

The main floor, decidedly raised, is a succession of communicating rooms, overlooking the central hall frescoed by the Lucca painter Stefano Tofanelli with naturalistic and mythological subjects.
It is in these rooms and in the garden that, according to one of the legends most beloved by the people of Lucca, the tormented ghost of the beautiful Lucida Mansi wanders, victim of a wicked, Faustian pact with the devil.

ADDRESS: Via delle Selvette, 242 Segromigno in Monte – Capannori
TELEPHONE: 0583 920234 – 347 7529340
EMAIL: villamansi@villeepalazzilucchesi.it
WEBSITE: villeepalazzilucchesi.it

Villa Grabau

In an unpublished 16th-century land registry appraisal, “the palace” is depicted for the first time, with a vast enclosure in the centre purchased years earlier by Girolamo and Alessandro Diodati.

Two gates lead to the center of the park where the villa stands. One, on one side, elegant and precious, connects to the neighboring Villa Oliva; it's known as the red gate because of its mosaics made from terracotta fragments. The other, more dramatic, features two tall pillars and an elegant wrought-iron gate, framing the balanced composition of the garden and villa. The architecture is inspired by the famous Villa Buonvisi in Lucca, reproducing the harmonious design of its façade. The light arches open onto the central hall on the ground floor, renovated in the 800th century and frescoed with trompe l'oeil motifs. A large park surrounds the villa, featuring native trees and shrubs from around the world.

Shady groves of oaks, holm oaks, hornbeams, lime trees, field maples, holly, and freckle trees, where you can stroll along shady paths lined with boxwood or yew, while large, airy green spaces are home to exotic trees and shrubs, introduced in the early 800th century, thanks primarily to the opportunities offered at that time by the newly founded Botanical Garden of Lucca, which helped transform the villa gardens into true plant wonders. Among the most majestic species are the tulip tree, the sequoia, the Atlas cedar, the Arizona cypress, the sweet olive, the California fan palm, and the Canary Island date palm.

On one side of the building is the small, elegant theatre and the sumptuous lemon house covered with a lush ficus repens.

ADDRESS: Via di Matraia, 269 S.Pancrazio
TELEPHONE: 0583 406098
EMAIL: info@villagrabau.it
WEBSITE: villagrabau.it

Villa Oliva

In his will of 1539, Alessandro Buonvisi left all his assets to his son Lodovico, except for the villa of San Pancrazio, which he reserved for his wife.

But the villa likely dates back to the previous century and is perhaps attributable to the brilliant hand of Matteo Civitali, a Renaissance genius and explorer of the delicate, harmonious relationships of architecture. Perched on a slight slope, the villa and its surrounding space are a balanced interplay of planes, chiaroscuro, perspectives, and volumes.

A Renaissance-inspired design with a Florentine and Mannerist influence, Villa Oliva's complex and unique design, a striking feature in the Lucca landscape, is a testament to its unique character. The interplay of volumes and the intersections of different levels characterize the building's architecture and the surrounding spaces. The restrained valley façade contrasts sharply with the broad, double-volume portico, opened rather than contained by a tall colonnade.

Intersecting planes intersect and intersect in perspective, forming the garden's distinctive feature. A grand staircase protected by a hornbeam vault. A cypress-lined avenue, a "green room" planted with yew, box, and laurel trees, and a belvedere covered by a yew vault suggestively opens onto the garden below, the rolling hills, and the city beyond. The dual slope of the land, rising to the north and east, is resolved with terraces, low walls, grassy knolls, and low box hedges, continually arousing surprise.

Terracotta statues populate this intricate garden: a seated Diana, with her faithful dog and a barn owl in the spiderweb; the "Pitocco" seated on a low wall; and other fantastical creatures arranged in fake grottoes and fountains. A "Siren" beneath a Buonvisi coat of arms amidst grinning caryatids and satyrs; a putto accompanied by fantastical horses and other winged cherubs with fish tails; and the 19th-century statue of Abundance.

ADDRESS: Via delle Ville, 2034 San Pancrazio
TELEPHONE: 330 446252
EMAIL: info@villaoliva.it
WEBSITE: villaoliva.it

Villa Bernardini

In 1615, Bernardino Bernardini, an enlightened thinker and illustrious figure in Lucca's political life, Ambassador of the Republic to various princes and to the Holy See, had the villa of Vicopelago built, a welcoming residence for his family and guests, a place of study and relaxation, so peaceful and close to the city that it has belonged to the family ever since, from father to son.

The garden also reflects this desire for serenity and welcome.

Lush trees and shrubs and countless flowering shrubs decorate the garden so that it blooms year-round.
The Secret Garden was created in the early 1700s and was intended for ladies to relax and converse in. Four large white limestone statues guard the soothing sound of the water from the large fountain, which blends with the shade of centuries-old trees. Not far away, at the end of the garden, lies the large Limonaia, a winter shelter for the lemon trees, adorned with centuries-old Ficus repens trees that decorate its north wall.

The interior of the villa is comfortable and welcoming, as is typical of country homes. From the central hall, arranged as usual along a perfect axis connecting the front and back, an elegant Matraia stone staircase leads to the main floor, the large ballroom. Around this space are bedrooms, living rooms, and studies, furnished with original pieces commissioned by the Bernardini family over the centuries. Each room displays the family crest, a white cross on a red field featuring an upright crescent moon, the symbol of the Crusaders. Each room holds small surprises from every era and place: portraits of ancestors, collections of ceramics, a still-working water clock, and an entire Empire-style bedroom.

Its interiors still retain their original layout, except for a few modifications commissioned by Marianna Parensi, who also designed the large green theatre at the rear of the villa, carved out of box hedges and nestled into the natural slope of the hill, which afforded perfect acoustics for the approximately 400 guests it could accommodate.

ADDRESS: Via del Cimitero di Vicopelago, 573/A Vicopelago
TELEPHONE: 0583 1646057 – 1646534
EMAIL: info@villabernardini.it
WEBSITE: villabernardini.it