Piazza Napoleone, commonly referred to as "Piazza Grande", is the main square of Lucca. In Piazza Napoleone there is the Palazzo Ducale, also called "Palazzo Pubblico", which occupies the whole west side of the square. It is currently the headquarters of the Province of Lucca...
The large square dedicated to Napoleon, where the Palazzo Ducale stands, was the headquarters of the noble power since the time of Castruccio Castracani (14th century) and Paolo Guinigi (15th century). The Square and the Palace are the result of the interventions wanted in the first decades of the nineteenth century by Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon's sister, and continued by Maria Luisa of Bourbon and his son Charles Louis, represented in the monument of Lorenzo Bartolini located in the centre of the square.