«Mi potrete dire se i colori sono compartiti sul gusto francese […] avendone voi veduti di fatti». Filippo Juvarra’s projects for the Mansi Patronage in Lucca

Abstract

Juvarra visited Lucca for the first time in 1706, when Coriolano Orsucci introduced him into society, and he returned there in 1714, 1724 and 1728.

Over all this time, he kept in contact with a group of Lucchese patricians related by family bonds and business interests. These families had acquired noble status recently or they were in the process of acquiring economic power, and were anxious to make their new social status visible.

Some of Juvarra’s ideas for the Lucchese villas developed over time, with several projects, during his four trips to Lucca. This makes his work in Lucca interesting to study in its entirety and specifically with the examples of the Orsucci and Mansi villas.

In 1724, Juvarra designed a final completion for the villa Mansi garden, that decades before Raffaello Mazzanti had only partially developed.

It is likely that Juvarra’s first ideas for the site had already come about at the time of his previous stays in Lucca. However, the project was certainly implemented in 1724, when Juvarra was called back to Lucca to satisfy some completely new expectations - this group of unique customers asked the famous architect to update with the most influential international style patterns. This request revealed an unusual need for renewal in Lucca and it paved the way for important developments.