In 1824, King Carlo Felice of Savoy purchased the collection of Egyptian antiquities accumulated by Bernardino Drovetti, and thus gave life to the Egyptian Museum, that today is surpassed in importance only by the Museum in Cairo. Twelwe rooms, that are arranged on three floors, house over 30,000 exhibits in a collection that has grown in size and significance over the years. Among the most celebrated exhibits, are the famous black granite statue of Ramses II, which has become the symbol of the museum, the tomb of the architect Kha and his wife Merits, complete with its splendidly preserved wealth of objects, the fundamental collection of papyri, and the innumerble artefacts that document religious cults, scientific research, activities of the scribes, and hunting, fishing and farming.

Inside the same building, a monumental staircase leads up to the Galleria Sabauda, the picture gallery of the Royal House of Savoy, enriched by subsequent acquisitions and passed over the Italian State in 1860. The important collection is one of the largest in Italy and includes, besides the works of art by Piedmontese and Italian masters (Fra Angelico, Guercino and Paolo Veronese, Andrea Mantegna, Filippo Lippi, Antonio and Pietro Pollaiolo, among others), Italy's most important collection of Flemish and Dutch paintings that includes works by Van Eyck, Memling, Rembrandt and Van Dyck.

Within a few metres walk, inside Palazzo Carignano, on the square of the same name, is the appropriately sited National Museum of Risorgimento. This magnificent Baroque palace designed by Guarini in 1679, was first the residence of the Savoy-Carignano royal family,that later became the home of the Subalpine Parliament: thirty rooms on the first floor house a collection illustrating the history of Italy from 1706, the year of Turin's victory over the French army, to 1946. Tanks to a recent restoration project, visitor can now complete their tour of the building in the splendid hall that housed Italy's first Parliament.

It is only a short walk under the porticoes of piazza Castello to the Royal palace, the official residence of the Savoy dinasty until 1865, where visitors can view the Throne Room, the royal apartments and the splendidly architectural Royal Gardens. One wing of the Palace houses the Royal Armoury, set up by King Carlo Alberto of Savoy, that is today one of the most important and comprehensive ollections of weapons in the world.

At the centre of Piazza Castello, the unmistakable form of Palazzo Madama stand out, in which the splendid rooms that host the Civic Museum of Antique Art are being restored.

Since 1989, the restructured green-houses in the Royal Gardens have become the home to the Museum of Antiquities, a vast heritage that ranges from prehistoric finds to collections of marble, ceramics and statues of the ancient Greek, Italic and Roman cultures.
Also of great interest is the Museum of Pietro Micca and the Siege of Turin in 1706, from which it is possible to gain access to the underground tunnels of the ancient Citadel. For the lovers of art and sculpture, it is worth a visit to the Accademia Albertina Picture Gallery, that is home to an important collection of works from between the 13th and 18th centuries.

Turin has not only been the capital of the Savoy Kingdom; it is also the capital of the motor car industry, of the Alpine peaks and of the cinema: precious collections, testimony to these facts, are housed in some of the most important museums in the city. In the rooms of the National Motor Car Museum (Museo "Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia") it is possible to follow the evolution of the motor car, from the earliest steam-powered vehicles to the modern mass production models, from successful racing cars to the latest products of ecological research.

If you prefer Nature to the motor car or the turmoil of city life, Turin offers a visit to the National Museum of the Mountains "Duca degli Abruzzi" fascinating not only for ts enchanting internal layout, but also for its panoramic setting on top of the Monte dei Cappuccini hill.

The Turin museum experience, already rich and stimulating as it is, has been completed by a new and important museum: in september 1999, the National Museum of the Cinema has opened in premises worthy of its importance, in the comprehensively restored Mole Antonelliana, that is one of the city's best-known symbols. The museum itself has been divided into three sections: the first devoted to the forerunners of the cinema - the magic lantetrn and the earliest experiments in moving pictures; the second portrays the development of the cinema and its emergence as a world-wide phenomenon; the third section reviews the new horizons of electronic imagery.
The museum adopts an interactive format that allows the visitor to test his own skills in the cinematic techniques of the past, present and future.

It is most important not to miss a visit to see the collections of the prestigious Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art .

The curiosity of the tourist could, lastly, be satisfied by visiting the Puppet Museum, that houses over 10,000 fascinating exhibits including puppet stage set and curious props from all over the world. The museum was set up in 1979 right next door to the Gianduja Theatre (Gianduja is the symbolic mask of Turin).