# Historic Villas & Gardens of Lucca to Visit > Villa Reale di Marlia, Villa Torrigiani, Villa Grabau, Palazzo Pfanner and more: a guide to the historic villas and gardens around Lucca. Source: https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/villas-and-gardens-of-lucca/ Travel Guide · Trip Inspiration # The Historic Villas and Gardens of Lucca Green theaters, lemon gardens and a Napoleonic princess: the ville lucchesi worth a day of your trip. [Trip Inspiration](https://villavacations.com/category/trip-inspiration/) By [Susan Russo](https://villavacations.com/author/susan-russo1gmail-com/) · October 26, 2026 ![The Historic Villas and Gardens of Lucca](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/borgo-bernardini-10.jpg) From the 1500s onward, [Lucca](https://villavacations.com/destinations/lucca/)’s silk merchants and bankers built country houses in the hills around the city, and they competed fiercely over their gardens: clipped box parterres, lemon trees in terracotta pots, grottoes, fountains and open-air theaters made of hedges. Hundreds of these *ville lucchesi* still dot the countryside, and a handful open their gates to visitors. If you love gardens, this is one of the great days out in Italy, and many of our villas are only minutes away. ## Villa Reale di Marlia The grandest of them all, a few miles north of Lucca. In 1806 Napoleon’s sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, then ruling Lucca as its princess, bought the estate and reshaped it with her brother’s instruction in mind: *tout comme à Paris*, everything as in Paris. The park covers some 16 hectares and layers several centuries of garden design: - A 17th-century **teatro di verzura**, a green theater carved from tall clipped hedges, where performances were once held for the court. Niccolò Paganini, Elisa’s court violinist, played here. - The **lemon garden**, lined with rows of citrus in terracotta pots. - The **Grotto of Pan**, a 16th-century nymphaeum decorated with shells and stone. - An English landscape park with winding paths, an artificial lake and camellia walks. After years of restoration, the park and its museum rooms open daily from early spring to late October. Allow at least two hours, and buy tickets online in high season. ## Villa Torrigiani, Camigliano East of Marlia, a long avenue of cypresses leads to one of the most theatrical Baroque facades in [Tuscany](https://villavacations.com/destinations/tuscany/). Nicolao Santini, Lucca’s ambassador to the court of Louis XIV, bought the villa in 1651 and remade it in the French taste. The great lawn has two ponds, and the gardens still hide their original *giochi d’acqua*, surprise water jets designed to soak unsuspecting guests. The real treasure is the sunken **Garden of Flora**, a secret garden framed by a nymphaeum and an elegant stone staircase. The villa is still lived in by the family’s descendants, which gives a visit an intimate, slightly faded charm. Check opening days with the villa before you go. ## Villa Grabau, San Pancrazio A favorite of serious gardeners. Nine hectares of park combine a formal Italian garden with a romantic English one, with a topiary theater, a 17th-century lemon house and rare trees collected over generations. Spring, when the azaleas and roses are out, is the best time to visit. ## Villa Oliva, San Pancrazio A short drive from Villa Grabau, this late Renaissance villa from around 1500 is known for its open double loggia and a park of holm oaks, cypress avenues, terracotta statues and old specimen trees, including ginkgo and camphor. The two together fill a morning. ## Villa Mansi, Segromigno A Mannerist villa remodeled in the 18th century, with neoclassical frescoes by the Lucchese painter Stefano Tofanelli inside and a garden associated with Filippo Juvarra, the architect of the kings of Savoy. Opening has varied over the years, so ask us before you plan around it. ## In town: Palazzo Pfanner You do not have to leave the walls to see a great Lucchese garden. Behind **Palazzo Pfanner**, near the church of San Frediano, is an 18th-century Baroque garden also attributed to Juvarra, with statues of the gods lining the central path, lemon trees in pots and an octagonal fountain. Walk the city walls first and you can look down into it, then go in for the full view. The palazzo also displays frescoed rooms and a collection of historic medical instruments. ## Tips for a garden day - **Go in spring or early autumn.** April and May bring camellias, azaleas and roses, and September has softer light and fewer visitors. In April the Verdemura garden fair fills the city walls, and in early September the Murabilia show returns. See [the best time to visit Lucca](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/best-time-to-visit-lucca/). - **Check opening days.** Most villas open from spring to autumn, some only on certain days or by appointment, and private events sometimes change the schedule. - **Plan two or three per day.** Marlia, Torrigiani, Grabau and Oliva are all within a short drive of each other in the hills north and east of Lucca. - **Go with a specialist guide.** A garden historian brings these places to life, from the families who built them to the plants they collected. We can book a private English-speaking guide for a half or full day, with a driver if you like. - **End with lunch and a tasting.** These hills are also wine country. Read our guide to [the Colline Lucchesi and Montecarlo](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/lucca-wine-country/). ## Live the villa life yourself The best way to see the ville lucchesi is to stay in one. Our villas around Lucca include historic houses with their own gardens, pools and long views over the plain. [Villa Controni](https://villavacations.com/villas/villa-controni/) is a grand villa with a private chapel and a pool, about ten minutes from the walls, and [Villa Lenka](https://villavacations.com/villas/villa-lenka/) has a pool framed by cypresses and potted lemon trees in true Lucchese style. For a wedding or a milestone celebration, the [Coselli Estate](https://villavacations.com/villas/coselli-estate/) in Capannori brings together six villas for up to 101 guests. See all of our [villas near Lucca](https://villavacations.com/destinations/lucca/), read [where to stay in Lucca](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/where-to-stay-in-lucca/), or [ask a Doorways advisor](https://villavacations.com/contact-us/) to plan a garden-lover’s week, private guide included. ## More from our Lucca guides - [Where to Stay in Lucca: Inside the Walls or a Villa in the Hills](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/where-to-stay-in-lucca/) - [The Best Time to Visit Lucca, Month by Month](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/best-time-to-visit-lucca/) - [What to Eat in Lucca, and Where We Eat](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/what-to-eat-in-lucca/) - [Puccini’s Lucca: Nightly Concerts, His Birthplace and the Lake Festival](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/puccini-lucca/) - [Lucca Wine Country: The Colline Lucchesi and Montecarlo](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/lucca-wine-country/) - [The Garfagnana and Serchio Valley: Lucca’s Wild Back Country](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/garfagnana-serchio-valley/) - [8 Reasons You Should Not Miss Lucca](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/why-visit-lucca/) - [Exploring Tuscany — Day Trips From the Lucca Area](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/lucca-day-trips/) - [The 10 Best Activities for Kids in Lucca](https://villavacations.com/travel-guide/best-activities-for-kids-in-lucca/) - [Lucca villas and destination guide](https://villavacations.com/destinations/lucca/) ## Frequently asked questions **Which Lucca villa gardens can you visit?** Villa Reale di Marlia, Villa Torrigiani in Camigliano, Villa Grabau and Villa Oliva in San Pancrazio, and Palazzo Pfanner inside the walls are among the best known. Opening days vary, so check before you go. **When is Villa Reale di Marlia open?** The park and museum rooms open daily from early spring to late October. Allow at least two hours. **What is the best season to visit Lucca's gardens?** April and May for camellias, azaleas and roses, and September for softer light and fewer visitors. Planning a trip to Italy? Add Doorways as a preferred source on Google, so our new guides are more likely to show up when you search. [Add us on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=villavacations.com) Stay in ## Hand-selected villas in *Lucca* ![Borgo Bernardini](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/borgo-bernardini-01-1024x684.jpg) Lucca ### Borgo Bernardini 12 Beds·12 Baths·24 Guests ![Casa Del Fattore](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/casa-del-fattore-01-1024x683.jpg) Lucca ### Casa Del Fattore 8 Beds·10 Baths·15 Guests ![Casa Felice Matteucci](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/casa-felice-matteucci-90-1024x683.jpg) Lucca ### Casa Felice Matteucci 7 Beds·7.5 Baths·14 Guests [Browse All Villas](https://villavacations.com/villas/?destination=Lucca) About the author ### Susan Russo Susan Russo is the owner of Doorways Villa Vacations, which is focused on offering hand-selected luxury villas in the most sought-after Italian destinations. As a dual citizen of Italy and the US, she loves visiting Italy often and scouting unique locations and experiences to share La Dolce Vita with her clients. Travel Guide ## More *stories* ![Puccini’s Lucca: Nightly Concerts, His Birthplace and the Lake Festival](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/lucca-hero-controni-1024x512.jpg) Trip Inspiration · October 26, 2026 ### Puccini’s Lucca: Nightly Concerts, His Birthplace and the Lake Festival ![The Best Time to Visit Lucca, Month by Month](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/casa-del-fattore-04-1024x683.jpg) Trip Inspiration · October 26, 2026 ### The Best Time to Visit Lucca, Month by Month ![Where to Stay in Lucca: Inside the Walls or a Villa in the Hills](https://villavacations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/villa-lenka-01-1024x648.jpg) Trip Inspiration · October 26, 2026 ### Where to Stay in Lucca: Inside the Walls or a Villa in the Hills --- Doorways Villa Vacations, Italian villa specialists since 1994. Book through a travel advisor: https://villavacations.com/contact-us/