Everything Like Paris

Elisa wanted to bring a bit of Paris to Lucca. She started this project by modernising the city with cultural and architectural innovations.

The royal palace was enlarged and became one of the most majestic in Italy.

Piazza Napoleone to the front of the palace and Via Elisa, north of the piazza, were both built. The new gate through the city’s walls, Porta Elisa, was designed to resemble the Parisian triumphal arch.