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Villa Bernardini, in Vicopelago (Lucca), dates back to 1615 and was built by Bernardino Bernardini, one of the most famous politicians of the time, who used it as a summer residence. The villa, still inhabited by his descendants, still preserves the original furnishings which the Bernardinis have acquired over time.

THE VILLA

The main structure features an almost cubic shape, with a portico on the ground floor, and three adjacent central windows: it looks like many other similar buildings around Lucca, but shows some extra features typical of the school of Vincenzo Civitali, a sculptor and Renaissance architect.
The building is developed over two floors plus an attic and a basement; the structure is a cubic block, typical of late Renaissance architecture, while the hipped roof is fitted with wooden eaves and the front porch has three arches.

THE GARDEN

In the garden, which surrounds the building and can be reached crossing the long driveway, there are three defined. The first, in front of the villa and built in recent times, is a semi-oval-shaped lawn surrounded by two gravel paths leading to the portico. The second, placed laterally and enclosed by a wall, is furnished with a circular basin with statues and benches and shaded with precious woods. The third, on the back of the villa, dates back to the early XVIII century. Right there, the natural hollow ground has been exploited to create a terraced amphitheatre and plant low and thick boxwood hedges geometrically pruned. Several spherical figures, obtained while modelling the boxwood, decorate the theatre and provide very good acoustics. In this “green theatre”, which can accommodate up to 100 people, many concerts are still held.

There are over 350 tree, shrub, bulbous, herbaceous, perennial and annual species belonging to 212 genera of 82 botanical families. Flowering, therefore, alternates throughout the year, always giving life to different shapes, colours and volumes.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)