Villas and fortresses of music in the Lucca area

The Lucca area is dotted with a multitude of villas and fortresses, inside which prestigious concerts and musical events are periodically hosted. These are suggestive buildings of high historical and artistic value that deserve to be visited and known.

Here is a short list of the most important villas and fortresses in Lucca and its province that host musical events.

Fortress of Mont’Alfonso

In the municipality of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is the Fortress of Mont’Alfonso, one of the most majestic architectural monuments in the Serchio Valley. Positioned on the top of a hill, it was built between 1579 and 1586 to a design by the Carpi engineer Marco Antonio Pasi. The imposing complex, surrounded by walls stretching for more than a kilometre, occupies an area of around 60,000 square metres and offers enchanting views of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Apuan Alps. It hosts a large number of concerts with internationally renowned artists. In recent years, Goran Bregovic, Roberto Vecchioni and Nicola Piovani have performed, to name but a few.

Medici Villa of Seravezza

The Medici Villa of Seravezza certainly needs no introduction: it is a historic architectural complex which in 2013 was included in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. Located at the foot of the Apuan Alps, it was built between 1561 and 1565 at the behest of Cosimo I de’ Medici. The complex consists of the palace, the stables, the chapel and the garden. Currently this wonderful place is home to the Sirio Giannini Library, the Municipal Historical Archive and the Museum of Work and Popular Traditions of Historic Versilia. Concerts and musical events are organized in its splendid setting.

Villa Borbone in Viareggio

In Viareggio, and precisely on Viale dei Tigli, there is Villa Borbone, one of the most fascinating historical places in Versilia. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century by order of Maria Luisa of Bourbon as a hunting lodge in the park that she had designed by Lorenzo Nottolini. The villa, as we see it today, is the result of a series of interventions implemented since the first years of its construction and throughout the nineteenth century. Immersed in the Lucca scrub of the Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli Natural Park, it also includes the mausoleum chapel, the lemon house and the stables. Used as a multipurpose space by the Municipality, it hosts shows, concerts and musical events.

Villa Bertelli in Forte dei Marmi

Located in the Vittoria Apuana hamlet of Forte dei Marmi, Villa Bertelli is one of the main centers for artistic and cultural events in Versilia. The villa was built at the end of the 19th century as an explosive material factory. After the First World War it was transformed into a hotel. In 1971 the business closed and the villa remained abandoned for several years. Today owned by the municipality of Forte dei Marmi, it hosts very popular exhibitions, shows and concerts, especially in the summer period. Artists of the caliber of Fiorella Mannoia, Antonello Venditi, Gianna Nannini, Francesco De Gregori and Gigi D’Alessio perform there.

Villas of the Lucca plain

In the area surrounding the Piana di Lucca there are the Lucca villas, luxurious residences of high historical and artistic value. Built between the 16th and 19th centuries at the behest of nobles and wealthy merchants from Lucca, they boast an almost unique architectural style and magnificent gardens. Very well known are: Villa Reale di Marlia, Villa Grabau and Villa Oliva in San Pancrazio, Villa Bernardini in Vicopelago, Villa Mansi in Segromigno in Monte and Villa Torrigiani in Camigliano. Cultural events, including concerts, are organized in some of these villas.

San Colombano Barracks

Finally, we couldn’t end this little list without including the San Colombano Barracks, so called due to its military origins. It is located above one of the bastions of the Walls of Lucca and is divided into two floors. The first floor, inaugurated in 2005 after a careful restoration, is home to the Giacomo Puccini Foundation, the Giacomo Puccini Study Center and the Luigi Boccherini Study Center. Events, conferences, exhibitions and educational activities are organized here. From the Casermetta you can see the apse of the Cathedral of San Martino.