|
Lucca's museums
National Museum of Villa Guinigi
 The
National Museum of Villa Guinigi is one of the hidden
gems of Lucca, one
of the oldest and most distinguished buildings of the city. This is one of the rarest examples of Tuscan villas existing
from the 1400s. Paolo Guinigi, wealthy Lord of Lucca, spent
a fortune building this impressive brick palace.
The art collections on display tell the story of the history
of Lucca, from the first settlements of Etruscan origin up
to the contemporary age. You'll see on displaty paintings
and sculptures by Matteo Civitali, Giorgio Vasari,
Fra Bartolomeo, Pompeo Batoni ect. Read more about
the
Villa Guinigi Museum.
National Museum of Villa Mansi
 The
National Museum of Villa Mansi located in Via Gallitassi,
in one of the most luxurious villas in Lucca, in the same
street as the city court. Built at the end of 1500s, the
building houses elegant apartments and a national art
gallery, with works from the Medici collections and others.
The Mansi family, who gave the building its name, was
believed to have originally been from Saxony, arriving in
Lucca in the 11th century. The family’s coat of arms is
displayed above the main entrance, and its reproduction is
evident in almost every room of the apartment. Rafaello Mansi was the first to buy the palace. To show off his social
standing he transformed it into a mansion by modifying the
original one story building with the addition of staircases
and wooden ceilings. The renovation in 1689 was entrusted to
architect Raphael Mazzanti, originally from Lucca. He had
many contacts within the Medici family was "
au courrant"
with the latest trends in architecture and interior
decorating. Mazzanti altered the ceilings, covered them in
frescoes, built a large hall and added an additional floor
and a large gateway entrance.
 Some rooms were subsequently used as art galleries, with the
installation of wall to wall lighting to illuminate the
paintings perfectly. The picture gallery was set up in 1977,
its works donated to Lucca by Grand Duke Leopold II of
Habsburg-Lorraine; this followed his ascension to the Grand
Duchy of Tuscany, in the second half of the nineteenth
century. This was later enriched with acquisitions from
private collections.
Today the Museo Nazionale di Villa Mansi has a number of
paintings of great artistic value: the collection ranges
from the 14th to the 18th century and offers a meaningful
overview of the major schools of Italian painting, from the
Tuscan to the Venetian, with such masterpieces as Ritratto
di Alessandro de' Medici by Jacopo da Pontormo (1494-1566) (see
photo), Il Ritratto di Don Garzia de' Medici Bambino del
Bronzino (1503-1572), La continenza di Scipione di Domenico
Beccafumi (1486-1551), La Crocifissione tra i Santi Caterina
d'Alessandria e Giulio di Guido Reni (1575-1642) and il
Ritratto di Senatore veneto del Tintoretto (1518-1594). On
the ground floor are the Summer Apartment rooms (1691) with
a decorative ceiling by Giovanni Maria Ciocchi (17th century).
Among other significant works are paintings by Girlandaio,
Veronese, Andrea del Sarto and Vasari. Also on display, are
the works of Tuscan artists from the 18th and 19th centuries,
which works from Batoni, Nocchi, Tofanelli, Ridolfi and
Macmillan and De Servi. One particular work by the latter,
has incredible intensity: the portrait of Giacomo Puccini,
1903.
Curiously, the rooms of this Palace are called "strung".
This is due to the fact that one leads into the other,
building up to the most elaborate: the alcove, or the
bedroom. The effect is that of growing wonder- one more
reason to visit the museum. The main floor is richly
decorated and furnished: the Galleria Nuova, is a hall
decorated in a neoclassical style, created by Stefano
Tofanelli in 1792; the Music Room, from the late 1800s, has
frescoes by Giovanni Gioseffo Dal Sole (on the walls) and by
Marco Antonio Castro (on the ceiling), both from Bologna. On
the same floor are three living rooms, their walls covered
in valuable tapestries created in Brussels in the late
seventeenth century. These tell the stories of Zenobia and
Aurelian (the Roman Emperor Aurelian who conquers the
Kingdom of Palmira ruled by Queen Zenobia, the same Palmira
destroyed recently by Isis).
The alcove, which concludes the sequence of living rooms, is
covered in embroidered silk and has a splendid arched
entrance and a wooden, gilded bed, the so-called "serliana"
(see photo). The room next to the bedroom is home to two
important paintings from the 17th century, one of the few
remaining pieces from the original Mansi collection: Una
Sacra Famiglia attributed to Anton van Dyck and il
Sacrificio di Isacco by the Flemish artist Ferdinand Boll.
On the ground floor, where the kitchens once were, is
an interesting weaving workshop, with nineteenth century
weaving frames, still in use. Several of the original seven
frames were donated to the Museum by Maria Niemack,
originally from Milan. She is credited with the success
Lucca enjoyed in this ancient industry, following her
relocation to Lucca in the late 1800s. She used frames that
were several centuries old, creating fabrics that were
impossible to find elsewhere. Here you can see the original
Lucchese silk production methods, made famous by the skill
of the weavers; they not only managed to conceive decorative
patterns for their designs but also create them with great
skill.
Cathedral Museum
 The
Cathedral Museum, in Piazza Antelminelli, near the
Duomo, displays works of art showing the political and
economic importance of the Lucchese Church over the
centuries, as well as the city’s devotion to the figure of
the Holy Face. This ancient crucifix of the black Christ,
venerated by pilgrims in the Middle Ages, was visited by
pilgrims from all over Europe. The Museum was opened at the
end of 1922 and was made possible thanks to a contribution
by the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca. These precious works of
art are housed in a building consisting of a 13th century
tower house, a 16th-century Church and a main building of
14th century origin.
The Romanesque cathedral houses sacred vestments, liturgical
furnishings, sacred silverware (made in Lucca between the
15th and 19th century), paintings and statues. Of great
importance are the medieval books and a statue of the
Apostle of
Jacopo della Quercia from 1400 AD. Among the most
important works: the precious artifact of the Holy Face, his
shoes, crown and collar, a polished gem of French origin and
the famous cross of gilded silver, known as "Cross of
Pisani", 1411, belonging to Paolo Guinigi.
Study of the Cross of Pisani
The Cross of Pisani, is the only remaining significant work
of Paolo Guinigi, Lord of Lucca (1400-1430) and consort of
Ilaria Del Carretto. It is a work of very fine gold, studded
with precious stones. It was created by Vincenzo di Michele
from Piacenza, a Goldsmith in great demand in Northern
Italy's courts in the fifteenth century. The cross is 78.5
cm high and is made of molten silver, embossed, engraved and
gilded, with touches of Polish "en ronde bosse", applied to
each of its three dimensional sides. This devotional object
was used in religious ceremonies of particular importance.
The figures represented include a crucifixion overlooked by
a mystic Pelican's nest (symbol of sacrifice), flanked on
two sides by figures portraying the Madonna and Saint John;
in the upper part of the cross are figures of suffering
angels and the four evangelists. This type of representation
was inspired by the arbor vitae (the tree of life, the
source of redemption).
According to legend, the Pisans became indebted to the
Lucchesi after many Middle Age wars. In need of a loan,
they offered the valuable artifact as a down payment. When
the loan expired, the Lucchesi, realising that the crucifix
had a much greater value than the loan, set all the clocks
in the city one hour forward. The Pisani arrived too late
and the cross remained in Lucca.
 We have alrady spoken about
Giacomo Puccini's Birthplace
Museum
Corte San Lorenzo 9 - 0583 584028.
Archivio storico comunale di Lucca
Piazza Curtatone, 7
Tel. e Fax 0583 491784.
For history lovers!
Paolo Cresci emigration Museum
 The Paolo Cresci emigration Museum is housed in the
Palazzo
Ducale in Lucca and more specifically in the side Chapel of
Santa Maria della Misericordia. It is small but very well
organised. The exhibition shows images both modern and old,
as well as exhibitions showing original documents and
objects. Historical footage and sequences from movies and
interviews by those who have experienced the process of
emigration are projected onto the walls of the museum. The
museum was founded with works by a Florentine scholar, Paolo
Cresci, a passionate researcher and advocate of these issues.
History is seen not through major events or significant
characters, but through common, simple, tragic, heroic
stories, many told by Italians in search of a better life.
Intense, exciting, capable of communicating not one, but a
thousand messages, this is a museum that everyone should
visit: children, adults, Italians and foreigners. The
museum’s message is more relevant than ever. Today as in the
past, from migration during the medieval period, to Italians
journeying to America in search of a better life, to North
Africans travelling to Europe and Syrians fleeing war, the
human journey is incessant and goes beyond the ephemeral in
our understanding of modern society.
Domus Romana
The Domus Romana (House of the Child on the Dolphin) is an
archaeological site dating back to the first century BC,
situated in the centre of Lucca. The site, discovered in
2010, has unearthed evidence of daily Roman life. Among some
of the more significant exhibits is a bronze fibula (brooch)
of the Augustan era and a sestertius (coin) issued in 14 AD
by Emperor Tiberius. Also on display is a terracotta frieze,
taking its name from the Domus depicting two Cupids riding
dolphins. In one room you study the evolution of
construction techniques through 2000 years of history. Also
on display are walls, objects and friezes from the Roman
period (1st century BC), the Lombard, Medieval and the
Renaissance periods.
Archaeological Museum of the Church of SS. Giovanni e
Reparata
Inside the baptistery of Santi Giovanni e Reparata is an
archaeological site open to the public. This was discovered
after a major excavation, which begun in 1969, unearthing
serval Roman remains (domus and spas), as well as an early
Christian basilica (4th-5th century Ad) and an adjoining
baptistery.
The Risorgimento Museum
 The
Risorgimento Museum, housed in the Swiss courtyard of
the Palazzo Ducale, displays historical exhibits from 1821
to the start of the First World War. Among the many rare
relics on display is the flag of the Carbonari of 1821,
flags of the National Guard, some signed letters by Mazzini
and Garibaldi and a couple of Garibaldi's red shirts. Also
in the collection are weapons from various ages and nations,
photographs, uniforms and equipment, everyday objects and
precious documents; an archive of considerable interest. The
story is told through illustrative panels with texts in
Italian and English and multimedia displays. A section of
the museum is dedicated to the Lucchese characters who took
an active part in the process of national unification.
Historical Museum of Liberation
 Opened in 1988, the
Historical Museum of Liberation is
located at Palazzo Guinigi in Via Sant'Andrea, 43. This is a
unique museum which tells the story of the army, navy and
Italian air force during the war of 1940-1943. On display
are exhibits of memorabilia, photographs, maps and war
uniforms. Of particular interest is the section on Italian
military cemeteries and details of locations where massacres
were committed Nazis.
Torture Museum
Like other European cities, Lucca has a Torture Museum,
which strangely is very popular! On display are objects,
images and historical sites dating from the Middle Ages to
the Industrial Age. The collection includes torture
instruments collected throughout Europe, (some pieces of
exceptional rarity), execution and public humiliation
devices, as well as etchings, prints and paintings. The
collection is accompanied by illustrations and commentary.
The aim of the exhibition is to shock the visitor and public
opinion in general, to create a feeling of repulsion towards
torture and the knowledge that the error lies in man, who
can win only with intelligence, recognition of the past and
eternal vigilance.
Cesare Bicchi Botanical Museum
The Cesare Bicchi Botanical Museum is located within the
Botanical Garden of Lucca, of which we have already spoken.
This small and interesting museum exhibits ancient "herbaria"
from the collections of centuries gone by. If you are
interested in visiting this museum, we recommend calling in
advance to find up to date opening times and to book a tour.
Mint medals
The Lucca Mint lies at the Casermetta San Donato in front of
Piazzale Verdi, in Via Sant'Andrea 45. The building is
dedicated to coins minted throughout Lucchese history. The
collection is accompanied by a factory and a library. The
guards at the entrance, dressed in period costume, are a
reminder of the Swiss Guard’s presence in Lucca (as is the
case at the Vatican). After many centuries of duty they were
laid off in 1805 by Elisa Baiocchi. Throughout the year many
temporary collections are on display for visitors.
Lucca Centre of Contemporary Art
The Lucca Centre of Contemporary Art has only recently
joined the long list of Lucchese museums and is located in
Via della Fratta, 36 near the Church of San Francesco. The works of modern and contemporary art are exhibited over five
floors and include a meeting area/café/restaurant, a
bookshop/library and a reading room. The exhibition halls
are devoted to temporary and permanent exhibitions of
decorative arts and sculpture, video art etc. A modern art
gallery in the ancient city of Lucca may seem out of place,
but if you are a fan of modern art, this is the ideal museum
for you.
Up
Ostelli Lucca
Ostelli Italia
Auberges de Jeunesse Italie
Hotel Lucca
Carte Lucques
Karte von Lucca
Mapa Lucca
Map of Lucca
Carte de la Toscane Karte von Toskana Mapa Toscana Map of Tuscany
Carte d'Italie
Karte von Italien Mapa Italia Map of Italy |
