The villa that hosts the museum was built by Paolo Guinigi, lord of Lucca, around 1413. It was originally located just outside the walls of the 13th Century, then it was incorporated into the subsequent expansion range of the walls. The villa has a single elongated body, the airy porticoes with arches supported by columns. In 1430 the villa was confiscated by the Republic of Lucca, to be used as an orphanage. Over the centuries the structure underwent a few changes.
In 1924 the villa became the seat of the civic museum. After the Second World War the house was restored and recovered its original appearance. In 1968 the Museum was transformed into a national museum.
First of all, the venue includes an interesting collection of archaeological finds: Prehistoric, Ligurian, Etruscan and Roman. In particular on the ground floor are:
Ligurian finds from various excavations in the northern plain of Lucca, in the Val di Serchio, Garfagnana and Versilia.
Etruscan remains from a nearby necropolis discovered at the center in 1982.
Roman period remains found inside homes around the area.
The Museum also presents collections that trace the historical and artistic development of Lucca, in particular artists Lucca or foreigners working in Lucca from the Middle Ages to the 18th Century, collecting paintings, sculptures, sacred furnishings and fabrics.
On the upper floors you can admire:
Painted cross by Berlinghiero Berlinghieri
Two Madonna and Child by two tabernacles Lucca attributed to Donatello
Pietà if Matteo Civitali
The Sant’Eustachio and San Biagio di Giorgio Vasari
The Crucifixion with Saints Catherine and Giulio Guido Reni
San Sebastian by Bernardo Parentino
San Rocco by Bernardo Parentino
God the Father in glory between the holy Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Siena by Fra Bartolomeo, 1508
Our Lady of Mercy by Fra Bartolomeo, originally placed in the church of San Romano
Madonna and Child with Saints by Aspertini
Ecstasy of St. Catherine of Siena by Pompeo Batoni, 1743