Villa Torrigiani is, together with the park that surrounds it, one of the most beautiful monumental villas in the Lucca countryside. It owes its current appearance to the contribution and intervention of numerous artists and craftsmen, who have succeeded one another over the centuries, including the landscape architect André Le Nôtre, famous for having contributed to the design and construction of the gardens of Versailles.
The history of Villa Torrigiani and its park began in the sixteenth century: in 1561 the complex was purchased by the Buonvisi family, who made it their summer residence. In 1636 the property passed to the Marquis Nicolao Santini, ambassador of the Republic of Lucca at the court of the Sun King, who decided to make it "his Versailles": Santini started the transformation of the park with the large pools designed by Le Nôtre, the creation of the Flora's garden with water games and the construction of the “Borgo Parigi”, the small town in front of the monumental entrance.