Useful information to feel like a king for a day

Palazzo Reale (foto), Castello del Valentino (foto), Palazzo Madama (foto), Castello di Moncalieri, Villa della Regina (foto), Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi, Reggia di Venaria (foto), etc...

With sobriety and discretion the Savoy dynasty have built castles and fantastic homes all over Piedmont over a few centuries. Charming, but at the same time sober in their style, these buildings stand out among the city buildings or in the hills in the open countryside.

We can start from the city centre: no problems of transport, no expenses, no effort. And moreover you can easily take advantage of some of the most beautiful Savoy palaces: for example Palazzo Reale (foto), the Valentino Castle(foto), or Palazzo Madama (foto). The admission fee to the first one costs 6.50 euros (half the price for young people between 18 and 25); the second one is always free (prior booking), while the third ticket (7.50) can be saved if you choose to visit it on the first Tuesday of every month.

But it's true that the city itself doesn't completely satisfy your desire of "Savoyness". If Emanuele Filiberto and his friends went out of the city for enjoyment, there must have been a reason and so it's worthwhile having a look into why...

The hill's treasures

Let's go out of the city chaos a bit, but not too far. Only ten kilometres from Turin, which you can travel on the no. 45 bus,you will find Moncalieri Castle (via del Castello, 2, Moncalieri), a spectacular, immense building originally constructed in the Middle Ages, modified and enlarged over the centuries by some of the Savoys, among whom Jolanda di Valois,who transformed it into a duke's residence, and Vittorio Amedeo II, who died there after having chosen it as his favourite home. Two of the four towers, that the castle boasts are visible from the front and allow you to recognise it from the foot of the hills. You can see it from here, or, if you are not lazy, take a walk as far as the building and have a closer look, even if the recent fire in 2008 caused some damage and therefore there is restoration work underway.

The treasures of Juvarra

The restoration of Villa della Regina (strada Comunale Santa Margherita, 79) (foto), a jewel not far from Piazza Vittorio, was consistent and took a long time, but fortunately it is now complete. Unique in its kind, it can only be visited on Sundays.The visit itself is free, the only cost might be a bus to get there (nos. 13, 55, 56, 66, or the special bus which goes to San Camillo). This villa, which takes its name from the wife of Vittorio Amedeo II, Anna Maria d'Orleans, was built the 17th century by the Prince and Cardinal Maurizio di Savoia on the model of a Roman villa, with gardens and agricultural land around it. Later on, around 1730, consistent renovations of the main reception room and the furnishings were directed by the famous Filippo Juvarra.

This architect's touch can be seen in more than one Savoy residence. If we go a little bit further away from the city centre than we have been so far, it's possible to take a breathtaking view of the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (a hunting residence in piazza Principe Amedeo, 7, Nichelino). This palace, designed in 1729 by Juvarra on the order of Vittorio Amedeo II, covers 32,000 sq. m. and houses 137 rooms, 17 galleries and a main reception room, of an elliptical shape and illuminated by three orders of windows which open onto four wings, each of which indicates a precise hunting route. The palace hosted important hunting parties, sumptuous balls and famous members of the aristocracy, such as Ferdinando IV, King of Naples and Paolina Bonaparte. If you want to be a guest there, it will cost you around 6 euros (unless you a Torino+ Piemonte Card).

It's worth a visit. It's the same for the royal palace Reggia di Venaria (piazza della Repubblica, Venaria Reale) (foto), apart from the price,which is from 10 to 12 euros, according to what you want to visit, with or without the gardens, which are highly recommended. Admission fee is compulsory for this visit every day of the week, but if the palace is known as the "little Versailles" it must boast some form of splendour and if you should decide to opt for this visit rather than a pizza, you won't be disappointed. Just think that the whole complex, comprising the village, the gardens, the woods and the palace itself, was designed by the court architect Amedeo di Castellamonte so that it was organic and harmonious. The visit of the complex allows you to enjoy a unique and vast spectacle, which since the mid 1600s has been enriched with reception rooms, pavilions, royal apartments, towers, fountains, chapels and stables up to the amazing Diana's Gallery by Juvarra. This gallery, which goes back to 1718, is recognized by all as the jewel in the crown of the residence. In fact its 80 m. in length, which are splendidly illuminated by windows and arches and richly decorated by candid stuccoes, are the most immediate and amazing symbol of the Savoy's grandeur.
Yes, you really mustn't miss it. Even if the price is a bit costly, it's worth spending. If you are still undecided, do opt for the gardens at least, which can be visited separately for only 4 euros and are particularly beautiful in the spring and summer season. Here in fact arboreal compositions blossom in all their splendour.

It's worth a visit and you can reach it on the nos. 11 and 72 bus. It only takes three quarters of an hour.

A bit out of town

Quicker to reach is a visit to the Rivoli Castle (piazza Mafalda di Savoia, Rivoli). This is at only half an hour's bus trip (the no. 36 from Torino). With only a 6.50 euro ticket you can visit the castle and the museum inside it. The palace, after being bought by the Savoys of the 15th century with Amedeo VI and restored by Carlo di Castellamonte and Juvarra, was purchased and destined by Regione Piemonte to house the Modern Art Museum. Guided tours of the museum are free and useful for those who know very little about modern art.

The desire of culture might push you further still. At about 40 km. (an hour on the GTT bus from Turin) is the little town of Agliè and here you can admire the most well-known to the TV public of the Savoy residences (piazza Castello, 2, Agliè). It was the set of the TV series Elisa di Rivombrosa and it offers a spectacle which is both majestic and relaxing. The enormous park surrounds the medieval palace, which was later transformed and enriched between 1667 and 1825 first by Filippo di Agliè and later by Carlo Felice. The visit costs 4 euros for the castle and 3 for the gardens, but if you buy a complete ticket you can visit both for 5 euros. Free guided tours are possible on Sundays.

A bit out of the province

If it's not enough for you allow yourself a visit to the province of Cuneo. In this discrete province some more or less known treasures are worth a visit. The "crown of delights", as the circuit of the Savoy residences is known, extends out of the province of Turin. Racconigi, Pollenzo and Govone,will open the doorway of their discrete pomp if you are prepared to travel a few miles out of town.

Racconigi first of all. The castle (via Morosini, 1, Racconigi) can be reached by train from Turin in half an hour and visited with 5 euros (plus 2 for its park), half the price if you are less than 25, or free if you are under 18, or if you are a student of Architecture or Humanistics. In this case the origins are medieval even if when the Savoys became its owners from 1620, it was successively and substantially transformed both inside and outside. Under the reign of Emanuele Filiberto in particular the original fortress became a rich palace on the project by Guarino Guarini. The building was enriched by a big central part with a pagodastyle roof flanked by two lateral wings with a dome-shaped roof. The future Savoys and the architects commissioned by them elevated, enlarged, decorated with stuccoes and embellished the building with collections of portraits.

The province of Cuneo also means for example Govone and Pollenzo.

Govone Castle (piazza Roma, 1, Govone), at about 80 km. from Turin, is hundreds of years old, like most of the Savoy residences. Built around the year one thousand and rebuilt in the 1600s for a family of counts, it fell in the hands of the Savoys and underwent successive changes on the design of great architects, such as Guarino Guarini and Benedetto Alfieri.
Besides the elegant façade, the splendid garden and the refined marble decorations, the castle boasts considerable 19th century frescoes, a main reception room with trompe l'oeil frescoes representing vast views and three rooms decorated with precious Chinese wallpapers. Well, it's a bit far from Turin centre, but it's really worth some train and bus changes for a visit which is not too expensive (3 euros altogether).

Now last but not least, Pollenzo. Is there anything better than this castle to stave off the "hunger for culture"which pushed you to go so far? Maybe nothing, if you think of the fact that this feudal residence of the 1300s,restored four centuries later in both neo-gothic and classical style by King Carlo Alberto, is today the seat of the renowned University of Gastronomic Sciences created by Slow Food's founder, Carlin Petrini. That is to say, here the Crown of Delights is far from being metaphorical and the "hunger for culture" may turn into real hunger for food...