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Piazza degli Aranci in Massa

Massa, Piazza Aranci
Massa, Piazza Aranci

A quadrangular break from the bustle of the city, decorated with a ring of orange trees: this is the main piazza in Massa, keenly desired by Élisa Baciocchi in order give greater prominence to her Ducal Palace.

Élisa, who obtained the regency of the Duchy of Massa from her brother in 1806, found her project met with dissent by the city authorities, since it also called for the demolition of the old church of San Pietro. It was the usual energetic, if not authoritarian, manner of the Bonaparte family that pushed the work forward anyway, under the supervision of first the architect Paolo Bargigli and later Giovanni Lazzarini. It began on 7 August 1807 and proceeded rapidly: during the demolition of the church of San Pietro, it seems that there was an attempt to distract attention from the controversial activity by setting up an office for the lottery draw in the courtyard of the Ducal Palace.

Piazza Aranci
Massa