16th-century Villa With Frescoes And Centuries-old Park I...

In Lucca, a city of art enclosed by famous Renaissance walls, this extraordinary historical villa of 2,297 sqm is for sale. Distributed over four levels, it is frescoed and impeccably maintained, surrounded by a large private park of three hectares. A Renaissance estate with 12 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, built in the early 1500s to a design by Nicolao Civitali to provide the nascent Lucca Republic with a setting worthy of welcoming kings, emperors and popes. Over the centuries, it has been owned by princes, great bankers and intellectuals, and was where Napoleon III stayed after his deposition in 1870.The villa was built in the early 1500s to a design by Nicolao Civitali, a highly prestigious architect, to provide Francesco Burlamacchi and the nascent Republic of Lucca with a setting worthy of welcoming kings, emperors and popes. This original purpose gave the villa the magnificence and sumptuous spaces that still characterise it today. In 1548, the villa passed to the Duke of Amalfi, and over the centuries it became the home of princes, great bankers and intellectuals. Each owner left their mark, enriching the villa with works of art, precious furnishings and architectural modifications that tell its long history. At the end of the 1700s, the villa was owned by Marianna Montecatini, a wealthy and enlightened bourgeois woman, unmarried, who wanted to leave her mark. It was she who redesigned the park according to the romantic taste of the time, creating the English garden and building the stairs that still characterise the property today, as well as overseeing the expansion of the park. In the nineteenth century, it was the residence of the Count of Newerkerke and the Princesses Cantacuzene, whose large portraits and numerous memorabilia enrich the rooms and bear witness to the nobility of the owners. A significant historical moment was when, after his deposition in 1870, Emperor Napoleon III stayed in this residence. In the dining room, the paintings of Emperor Napoleon III and his consort immediately catch the eye, tangible evidence of this historical event. Other sculptures and paintings stand out in this room, which is still used for its original purpose.Ref. 14837