Tourist attraction
Piazza Napoleone
P.za Napoleone, 55100 Lucca LU
Grand civic square framed by plane trees, built by demolishing a medieval quarter for a statue that never went up.
This guide to Piazza Napoleone in Lucca opens with a puzzle: a square named for an emperor that holds no statue of him at all. You'll hear how Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, ruling Lucca on her brother's behalf, tore down a medieval quarter, a church, and a beloved miracle-working painting in 1806 to build him a monument-worthy stage, and why the grand statue planned for its center was never finished. Even now, ask someone from Lucca for directions and most still call this square by its older name, Piazza Grande.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.