Porta Elisa (Elisa's Gate), Lucca
Porta Elisa is an eastward gate in the Walls of Lucca. The original plan for the Walls did not envisage any gate on the eastern side of the city 鈥� for fear of attack from Florence. However, during the Napoleonic domination, when the threat of invasion from the Florentine dominion was none, it became necessary to obtain direct access to the road which led to the important cities of the Lucca state, such as Capannori and Villa Basilica, and further afield towards Pescia, Montecatini Terme, Pistoia and Florence.
The gate was constructed between 1809 and 1811 and, unlike its predecessors, was not dedicated to a saint (according to the strict secularism of the time), but instead was named after Elisa Baciocchi Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, who against the will of her brother had married the fallen nobleman Felice Baciocchi, eventually the Prince of Lucca and Piombino.
The gate consists of three arches with a modest ornamentation in Neoclassical style with Doric entablature supported by two pairs of Tuscan columns. A low parapet is the only part of the building that slightly surmounts the level of the Walls. The gate's white marble masonry starkly contrasts the red bricks of the Walls.
From the inside the gate was to appear as a triumphal arch, marking the outset of a new road to the city center, called Via Elisa, which was originally intended to gut the ancient quarters of the city by demolishing the Romanesque Porta San Gervasio and creating a large arcaded street towards Piazza San Michele. However, following the fall of the Napoleonic Empire, the demolition plans were aborted, with only one stretch of Via Elisa completed with the ensued destruction of medieval convents of the Carmine and the Capuchins.
The gate was constructed between 1809 and 1811 and, unlike its predecessors, was not dedicated to a saint (according to the strict secularism of the time), but instead was named after Elisa Baciocchi Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, who against the will of her brother had married the fallen nobleman Felice Baciocchi, eventually the Prince of Lucca and Piombino.
The gate consists of three arches with a modest ornamentation in Neoclassical style with Doric entablature supported by two pairs of Tuscan columns. A low parapet is the only part of the building that slightly surmounts the level of the Walls. The gate's white marble masonry starkly contrasts the red bricks of the Walls.
From the inside the gate was to appear as a triumphal arch, marking the outset of a new road to the city center, called Via Elisa, which was originally intended to gut the ancient quarters of the city by demolishing the Romanesque Porta San Gervasio and creating a large arcaded street towards Piazza San Michele. However, following the fall of the Napoleonic Empire, the demolition plans were aborted, with only one stretch of Via Elisa completed with the ensued destruction of medieval convents of the Carmine and the Capuchins.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
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Porta Elisa (Elisa's Gate) on Map
Sight Name: Porta Elisa (Elisa's Gate)
Sight Location: Lucca, Italy (See walking tours in Lucca)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Lucca, Italy (See walking tours in Lucca)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Lucca, Italy
Create Your Own Walk in Lucca
Creating your own self-guided walk in Lucca is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Lucca Introduction Walking Tour
Lucca is called many things: a city of arts, a city of churches, gardens, towers. Most of all it is known for its walls. From Roman times until now the walls have stood. It is the only city in Italy that has kept its walls intact.
The inner walled city is laid out in the ancient Roman grid plan. The Piazza San Michele is the site of the old forum. Bits of the Roman amphitheater can be found in... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles
The inner walled city is laid out in the ancient Roman grid plan. The Piazza San Michele is the site of the old forum. Bits of the Roman amphitheater can be found in... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles
Lucca's City Wall and Gates
As one of Italy's Citt脿 d'arte's (arts towns), Lucca is famous, among other things, for its well-preserved ancient walls encircling the historic center. From about 570 AD until 1847 the city had been the center of the Longobard administration and the capital of old Tuscany, and as such required a defense system to render it an impenetrable fortress.
Back in the Middle Ages, the... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.7 Km or 2.3 Miles
Back in the Middle Ages, the... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.7 Km or 2.3 Miles
Puccini's Lucca
One of the greatest musical talents of mankind, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, was born and spent a substantial part of his life in the Tuscan city of Lucca. Today the legacy of Puccini resonates all over the world and even more so here.
Puccini's ancestors, also musicians, moved to Lucca in 1719. The future maestro was born in a house that had belonged to his family since 1815 鈥� Casa... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.5 Km or 0.9 Miles
Puccini's ancestors, also musicians, moved to Lucca in 1719. The future maestro was born in a house that had belonged to his family since 1815 鈥� Casa... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.5 Km or 0.9 Miles