Elisa in Lucca: Seven Stories to Follow

In the early 19th century, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi—sister of Emperor Napoleon and Princess of Lucca and Piombino—began an ambitious project to transform the city and its surrounding countryside. With elegance and determination, she reinterpreted the city in a modern key, renovating buildings, creating green spaces, and promoting science, taste, and well-being, following the models of the French Empire.

This seven-stage journey invites you to follow the trail of his vision, through places that still bear his imprint. It's not just about monuments: each place has a story to be heard, an atmosphere to be experienced.

1. A villa and a plane tree

In the heart of Lucca, Villa Bottini It was Elisa's first residence in Lucca, chosen while the Ducal Palace was still being renovated. Its large garden, rare for an urban residence of the time, recalled the models of country villas, offering spaces for reception and relaxation. It is said that Elisa herself planted the imposing centuries-old plane tree which still dominates the garden today: one of the many specimens that made this tree iconic in the avenues and gardens of Lucca.

2. A garden of plants and visions

The Botanical Garden of Lucca It was commissioned by Elisa, but took full shape a few years later, under Maria Luisa of Bourbon. It was conceived as a place of study, beauty, and knowledge, open to the exotic plants arriving via the imperial routes: from cocoa to tea, from ginkgo biloba to sequoias. It seems that Elisa personally received seeds and rare species from Paris and entrusted their cultivation to trusted gardeners. In autumn, the garden lights up with the warm colors of the foliage, still attracting visitors and photographers today.

3. A dress for the court

Palazzo Mansi is a special stop on Napoleonic itineraries.
The Neoclassical section hosts, in the Hall of Princes, the refined and sumptuous dress, together with the matching cloak, that belonged to Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, Princess of Lucca and Piombino.
The ensemble consists of a cloak and two matching dresses, made of white silk tulle with silver foil embroidery. It is one of the most prestigious examples of ceremonial fashion at the Napoleonic court, a true masterpiece of imperial style.

4. A door to the future

Bring Elisa, opened in the eastern section of the Walls, represented the dream of a renewed city. Conceived as a triumphal entrance, it was to open onto a monumental avenue that led straight to Napoleon Square and Ducal Palace, in perfect Parisian style. Although the project was never completed, the gate, facing Florence, expressed Elisa's ambitions: to propel Lucca toward modernity and affirm its role in Tuscany.

5. A residence outside the walls

In 1806, Elisa purchased the Royal Villa of Marlia, transforming it into a refined country residence. The gardens were redesigned with green theatres, fountains, avenues and perspective effects. It seems that in the Clock Building Elisa organized small theatrical and musical performances, surrounded by select guests. Today, thanks to careful restoration, it's possible to visit the park and the villa's interiors, and enjoy the seasonal blooms, in an atmosphere suspended between nature and the courtyard.

6. A party that comes back to life

Every year, the Royal Villa becomes the stage for a great historical reenactment: a leap back in time to the summer of 1810, when Elisa hosted intellectuals, officials, and artists in her Lucca hamlet. More than 100 extras bring to life scenes of court life, games, duels, dances, and tableaux vivants. It is said that for Elisa, these events were not just entertainment, but opportunities to foster cultural and diplomatic relations, following a strategy all her own.

7. A pleasure to be enjoyed

Elisa was a refined chocolate lover. It is said that during receptions at the palace, a fountain of hot chocolate, served on fine porcelain, was always present. Today, in the historic center of Lucca, this taste of the past can be found in the artisanal chocolate shops and in the historic ice cream parlors, which offer variations inspired by 19th-century tradition. A pleasure to be enjoyed while strolling in the shade of the plane trees she loved so much.