Paolo Buonvisi commissioned the construction of Villa Bottini, or Villa Buonvisi al Giardino, in the second half of the 16th century. The villa is the only example of urban villa in Lucca.

The ground floor and the porch are decorated with a cycle of mythological and allegoric frescoes by Ventura Salimbeni dating back to the end of the 16th century.

An enclosed garden surrounds the villa, which in the course of the centuries has undergone several transfers of property and in the 19th century belonged to Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon`s sister. The flower beds in the garden are rich in yews, horse chestnuts, magnolias, holm-oaks, plane trees and cedars of Lebanon.
Due to the beauty of the garden, the owners of the villa were called Buonvisi al Giardino (which could be translated as Buonivisi of the Garden).