Villa Reale, Marlia

The finest of the Lucchese villas. Make sure you don't miss the old Baroque garden. It is the last port of call if you make an anti-clockwise tour, past the old bishop's palace and beyond the informal grounds laid out by Morel for Napoleon sister Elisa Baciocchi, who was created Princess of Lucca and Piombino. A water garden, with a nymphaeum at each end by the Piedmontese architect Juvarra, leads past a fountain, to the delightful green theatre, a wonderfully intimate space enclosed by yew hedges. Figures from the commedia dell' arte occupy the stage. This was where Elisa dallied with her paramour Bartolomeo Cenami, serenaded by her court musician Paganini.