Villa Reale Marlia, sister Napoleon's residence, opens to the public

LUCCA - A museum tour in what was the country house of Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, the sister that Napoleon made princess of Lucca and Piombino and then Grand Duchess of Tuscany and whose bicentennial from the death this year also occurs. From 1 March, for the first time, the Villa Reale di Marlia, in Capannori in Lucca, opens its Empire-style apartments to the public permanently immersed in a monumental park of 16 hectares, which can already be visited and which contains the Verzura theater. More ancient of Europe. So decided the young couple, of Swiss citizenship, who became the owner of the extraordinary architectural and landscape complex in 2015.
Initially for the Villa Reale - built in the mid-1600s by the Orsetti, which also belonged to the Pecci Blunt and which in the past hosted by Niccolò Paganini at the time of Princess Elisa in Salvador Dalì and Alberto Moravia in the 1900s -, the destiny was to become a luxury hotel. But then cultural interest prevailed. So after a very impressive restoration not yet completed and conducted in collaboration with the Superintendence of Lucca (15 construction sites open for a total area of ​​6000 m2 for the buildings and 16 hectares for the total restoration of the park), the objective, explains the owner, is to make the Villa one of the best Napoleonic museums in Europe and to host cultural or exclusive events also in its park which also houses a collection of ancient camellias wanted by Elisa, the sixteenth-century Nymphaeum, the Lemon Garden dating back at the Baroque era such as the Water Theater and that of Verzura and an Art Deco swimming pool created by Jacques Greber. Overall, the property has three villas, two twin neoclassical buildings, the park, 2 chapels, lemon guns, former stables, sawmills and service buildings. The historical-scientific coordination for the preparation of the museum was overseen by the Napoleon and Elisa Association: from Paris to Tuscany. From 1 March the villa and park will be open to the public every day from 10 to 18. Among the first events, participation in the exhibition of the ancient camellias of Lucca in March and some appointments of the classical Lucca music festival scheduled between April and May.