Porta Elisa, Neoclassical city gate in Lucca, Italy
Porta Elisa is a gate in Lucca's eastern wall, built between 1809 and 1811. Its white marble masonry stands out against the red brick of the walls. The gate has three arches, with the two side arches added in 1937, and a Doric entablature with triglyphs and plain metopes supported by two pairs of Tuscan columns. A low parapet barely rises above the wall level.
The gate was built during the Napoleonic era and named after Elisa Baciocchi, the French emperor's sister who ruled Lucca at that time. This naming marked a departure from the older tradition of naming city gates after religious subjects.
Porta Elisa is the only gate in Lucca's walls named after a person rather than a saint, honouring Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon's sister and Princess of Lucca and Piombino. She married Felice Baciocchi against her brother's wishes. The gate's name reflects the secular naming practice of the Napoleonic period.
The gate sits on the eastern side of Lucca and serves as a departure point for roads toward surrounding towns and larger cities. Visitors should know the location is easily reached on foot from the old town, and good footwear is recommended for exploring the area.
The original project planned a grand new street meant to connect the gate with the city center, but this plan was not completed after the fall of Napoleonic rule. Today visitors can still see traces of these ambitious expansion plans in the city layout.
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