They bought and completely restored one of the largest, oldest, and most important royal residences in Italy, returning it to public use and creating a museum complex of international significance. For this reason, exactly 10 years after the purchase, the owners of Villa Reale di Marlia, Henric and Marina Grönberg, were awarded the medal of the City of Lucca by Mayor Mario Pardini.
“The restoration of Villa Reale di Marlia and its reopening to the public are acts of rare patronage; in addition to saving a monument from decline, one that symbolises the Lucca area and its long history as an independent state,” says Mayor Pardini. “Today, Villa Reale di Marlia makes an extraordinary cultural and economic contribution to the entire tourism area of the Piana di Lucca.”
The medal was presented to Henric Grönberg during the launch of a book dedicated to the restoration of the monumental complex, published by Maria Pacini Fazzi as part of the VerdeMura event. The event was attended by the architects, scholars, and restorers who worked on the restoration, as well as Nicola Lucchesi, the sole director of Lucca Crea.
Villa Reale di Marlia is one of the most important historical residences in Europe. Its baroque and neoclassical gardens surround the buildings of the complex, covering 16 hectares on the foothills northeast of Lucca. Documented since the early Middle Ages as a residence for the Duke-Marquis of Tuscany, it became part of the Buonvisi family’s possessions and later those of the Orsetti family, who created the baroque gardens and the Green Theatre, the oldest in Europe. In 1806, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister and Princess of Lucca, purchased the property and transformed it into a neoclassical royal residence inspired by Malmaison and Château d’Ermenonville. Villa Reale di Marlia then served as the residence for the Dukes of Lucca Maria Luisa and Carlo Lodovico di Borbone, followed by the Savoy and Bourbon Capua families, and ultimately the Roman Counts Pecci Blunt.
The afternoon also featured exclusive tours with architect Luca Borgogni and owner Henric Grönberg, offering an in-depth look at the restorations and the work done over the past 10 years by the direct implementers of the project, which has allowed Villa Reale to compete with the most prestigious European period residences.