Piazza Napoleone and the Ducal Palace

Welcome to Piazza Napoleone- don’t bother looking for a statue of Napoleon, because there isn’t one, it’s Maria Luisa di Borbone, Duchess of Lucca, who reigns here instead. Originally, the square was created in 1806 by Elisa Bonaparte, the emperor’s sister, who had a statue of Napoleon erected at its centre to honour her illustrious brother. However, after his fall in 1815, Maria Luisa became Duchess of Lucca and decided to redesign the square, and as a result Napoleon’s statue disappeared and was replaced by her own. The work of sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini now stands in the middle of a square that still bears Napoleon’s name, a small historical revenge in marble where the emperor lends his name but not his face. The square is also known as Piazza Grande and opens onto the Ducal Palace, which has served as Lucca’s political and administrative centre for several centuries, built on the remains of a former medieval fortress and now featuring primarily Renaissance architecture, notably housing the Cortile degli Svizzeri, an elegant courtyard surrounded by superimposed columns. If the gates are open, feel free to step inside and wander freely through the Cortile degli Svizzeri and the Cortile Francesco Carrara.