  Quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories (LGTs), aiming at tackling
non-perturbative particle and condensed matter physics, has recently received a
lot of interest and attention, resulting in many theoretical proposals, as well
as several experimental implementations. One of the current challenges is to go
beyond 1+1 dimensions, where four-body (plaquette) interactions, not contained
naturally in quantum simulating devices, appear. In this Letter, we propose a
method to obtain them based on a combination of stroboscopic optical atomic
control and the non-local photon-mediated interactions appearing in
nanophotonic or cavity QED setups. We illustrate the method for a
$\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ lattice Gauge theory. We also show how to prepare the ground
state and measure Wilson loops using state-of-the-art techniques in atomic
physics.
