Official Information
Official websites: https://www.palazzoducale.lucca.it/ (Palazzo Ducale)
Online tickets: On site only
Addresses:
Palazzo Ducale: Piazza Napoleone 1, 55100 Lucca (LU), Italy
National Picture Gallery (Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi): Via Galli Tassi 43, 55100 Lucca (LU), Italy
Map: View on Google Maps
Opening Hours
Palazzo Ducale functions primarily as the seat of the Province of Lucca and hosts exhibitions and events with variable visiting hours, typically on weekdays and during scheduled guided tours. The National Picture Gallery at Palazzo Mansi, managed by the Italian Ministry of Culture, generally follows standard state-museum opening patterns (daytime openings Tuesday to Sunday with weekly closure on Monday), but exact hours and any seasonal changes should always be checked on official MiC and municipal channels before visiting.
This entry combines two related but distinct experiences in Lucca: the monumental Palazzo Ducale on Piazza Napoleone and the state-run National Picture Gallery housed in Palazzo Mansi a short walk away. Palazzo Ducale stands on the site of the medieval fortress of Castruccio Castracani and was gradually transformed from the 15th century onwards into the political heart of Lucca. Its current appearance reflects works undertaken under Paolo Guinigi, then Maria Luisa di Borbone and the subsequent ducal administrations, with a long, austere façade onto the main square. Today the building houses the provincial administration, but parts of the palace open for guided visits, exhibitions and cultural events. These often include the grand staircase, the throne room, historical salons and sometimes the small internal chapel, giving visitors a sense of Lucca’s political life in the late Renaissance and early modern periods. The National Picture Gallery is in Palazzo Mansi, a 17th-century merchant’s residence later adapted as a patrician home and now a state museum. Here, richly decorated Baroque and Rococo rooms with tapestries, stuccoes and original furnishings provide the setting for a significant collection of paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries, including works by Bronzino, Pontormo and local Lucchese masters, alongside earlier panel paintings. The visit typically unfolds in two layers: first through the preserved historic apartments, with bedchambers and reception rooms that show how a wealthy Lucchese family lived, then into more traditional gallery spaces where paintings are arranged by school and period. For travellers, combining Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Mansi offers a compact overview of Lucca’s political and artistic history: from the halls where decisions were made to the salons where elite families displayed their status. Because opening times for Palazzo Ducale’s monumental spaces depend on events and offices, it is wise to confirm tour availability through the provincial or palace website or local tourist office. Tickets for the National Picture Gallery are modestly priced and usually bought on site, sometimes in combination with the National Museum of Villa Guinigi, creating a good value art-historical circuit within walking distance of Lucca’s main sights.