Camellia preview: at Villa Reale di Marlia spring comes earlier!

The japonic camellias are starting to blossom as early as January and to see them in preview this year we have decided to bring forward the opening to be able to welcome you during the weekends of February 2023!

The collection of ancient camellias of the Royal Villa of Marlia, just 8 km from the historic center of Lucca, boasts various varieties that bloom from January to April, alternating between early and late species with various colours.

February is the month par excellence dedicated to Carnival and masks and just in the year in which the Carnival of Viareggio stops in Lucca with “Lucca in Maschera“, we recommend enriching your visit to Lucca with a stop at the Villa Reale in Marlia: the reopening to the public of the complex with its 2 museums and 16 hectares of park will be on Saturday 3 February 2023 from 10 to 18 and will continue for all the weekends of February before starting again with the daily opening from 01 March 2023 onwards.

Even if it seems less probable, even winter lends itself very well as a season in which to visit the surroundings of Lucca and in particular the Royal Villa of Marlia: take some time to slow down the stressful rhythms of daily life and immerse yourself in the beauty of nature and architecture. The freshly restored apartments that housed Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister, will surprise you together with the small museum inside the Palazzina dell’Orologio dedicated to the private collections of another great woman: Anna Laetizia Pecci-Blunt. Outside the splendor of the palace, however, there are the 160,000 square meters of park which hide the two avenues of ancient camellias among evergreens and dormant plants: which ones will be exhibited in all their beauty as early as February?

As spring approaches, the chances of seeing us will also increase: from 01 March 2023 the park and museums of Villa Reale will be open to visitors every day, another reason to promote midweek walks! Like every year, the collaboration with the Exhibition of the Ancient Camellias of Lucca is very close and mutual promotion is getting stronger because those who come to Lucca in the spring months cannot miss the spectacle of the flowering of the camellias which in this area is among the most excellent in Europe!

Promotion of Exhibition of the Ancient Camellias of Lucca 2023: if you visit the Camellia Garden of Sant’Andrea di Compito, you can visit from Monday to Friday the entire Villa Reale complex (with its 2 avenues of ancient camellias and the buildings that have just been opened to the public) with the reduced ticket at €11 instead of €18. The promotion is not valid for visits to Villa Reale on Saturdays and Sundays.