The Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi is located in the northeastern area of the city of Lucca, outside the twelfth-century city walls and later encompassed by the sixteenth-century walls. The Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi is the museum of the city and its territory, as it exhibits one of the richest and most interesting collections of artworks produced for Lucca by local or foreign artists working in the city for ecclesiastical and lay commissions. The main core of the collections dates back to the disentanglements of ecclesiastical assets before and after the unification of Italy, to which were then added artifacts from excavations in the city, new acquisitions, gifts, and deposits from various entities. In the rooms of the Villa, which was the residence of Paolo Guinigi, lord of Lucca from 1400 to 1430, in late Gothic style, the history of the city is retraced: the journey begins from the 8th century BC with the archaeological collection, to reach the eighteenth century with predominantly sacred works. The Villa, one of the oldest and most prestigious palaces in the city, was built starting from 1413 by Paolo Guinigi, lord of Lucca until 1430. Originally conceived as a suburban villa and summer residence for representation, the building was surrounded by a large enclosed garden of which only a portion remains today, overlooking the main facade with the long loggia. After Guinigi's death, the building suffered serious damages until in 1924, it was destined to house the various city collections as a Civic Museum. In 1948 it was transferred to the State, which provided for the restoration of the building and the new arrangement of the artworks. It was inaugurated as a National Museum in 1968.