Villa Bottini, Lucca

Villa Bottini stands as one of the most elegant and historically significant villas in Lucca. Built in the 16th century by the influential Buonvisi family, its architectural design became a model for many other villas in the region. The villa's balanced symmetry, large openings, and harmonious proportions give it a refined lightness rarely seen in similar structures.

In the early 19th century, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, acquired the villa. During her ownership, neoclassical decorations were added to complement the existing 16th-century frescoes by Ventura Salimbeni, which remain the only surviving example of such interior decoration in Lucca’s villas. The frescoes, inspired by Raphael’s work at Villa Farnesina in Rome, adorn the main hall and the vaulted porch, adding an artistic grandeur to the residence.

The villa’s layout features a rectangular structure with a basement, a raised ground floor, a low-roofed first floor, and a central loggia. A small door on the rear façade leads into the main hall, while the large garden entrance, designed with impressive scale, contrasts with the villa’s more delicate architectural elements. The nymphaeum gate, one of the first instances of Venetian windows in Lucca’s villas, is an eye-catching detail, blending smooth and rough materials and crowned by two river statues forming a broken tympanum.

Following various changes in ownership-including the Marquis Bottini, the Motroni Andreozzi family, and the Marcheschis-the villa eventually came under the ownership of the Tuscany Region. After an extensive restoration, it was sold to the municipality of Lucca, which now uses it as a cultural venue. Today, Villa Bottini hosts exhibitions, events, and public gatherings, while its picturesque garden remains open to visitors, offering a tranquil escape in the heart of Lucca.