Castello del Valentino
Parties and receptions in the court gardens
The castle on the river
Standing on the banks of the river Po, in the heart of Turin's green lung, Valentino Castle derives its name from Vallantinum, a term that indicated the morphology of the surrounding area, a small valley.
Its history is linked to the transfer of the capital of the Duchy of Savoy from Chambery to Turin in 1563. Just a year later, Duke Emmanuel Philibert bought the site in order to strategically extend his control to the city surroundings.
The French Castle
The residence had its heyday in the 17th century. In 1619, upon the occasion of the marriage between Victor Amadeus I and Christine of France, Duke Charles Emmanuel I gave it to his young bride, who transformed it over a period of about twenty years according to her French taste. The design was entrusted to the architects Charles and Amedeo of Castellamonte, who worked on the volume of the façade facing the Po, directly accessible from the river, and on the façade facing the current church of San Salvario, in correspondence with a large tree-lined avenue, now Corso Marconi.
The magnificence of the architecture is mirrored by its wondrous interiors. Refined subjects were first frescoed by Isidoro Bianchi and his workshop on the vaults of the south-facing rooms from 1633 onwards, within rich gilded stucco frames. In the Hall of Honour, however, Bianchi's paintings explicitly celebrated the close relationship between the court of Turin and that of France. From 1645, the rooms facing north were also decorated with stucco and frescoes, executed by Giovanni Paolo and Giovanni Antonio Recchi and a skilful team of Lugano stucco artists (Alessandro Casella, Bernardino Quadri, Elia Castelli, and Giovanni Luca Corbellino).
In the 18th century
After the splendour brought about by Christine of France, interventions in the 18th century were rather limited as the palace was no longer used as a residence by the court. In 1729, Victor Amadeus II transformed one of the two side gardens into a botanical garden, with the aim of studying and growing a wide range of plants.
The castle's new vocation
The last transformations carried out according to designs by Domenico Ferri and Luigi Tonta date back to the mid-19th century, which partly changed the original castle layout. In 1861, the castle became the headquarters of the Turin Royal School of Engineering (founded in 1859), which then became the Turin Polytechnic in 1906. Today, the School of Architecture is housed in this old residence.
- 16th century: Emmanuel Philibert buys the property and in 1578 he hands it over to his illegitimate son Amedeo Marquis of San Ramberto
- from 1619: Marie Christine of France, wife of Victor Amadeus I, commissioned Charles of Castellamonte to design the architectural project according to French taste
- from 1632: Interior decoration by Bianchi, Solaro and Casasopra
- 1637: On the death of Victor Amadeus I, Marie Christine chose the Valentino as her official residence
- from 1643: The two front pavilions are built, defining the pavillon système (pavilion system)
- 1645: Amedeo of Castellamonte replaces his father Charles in the direction of the shipyard
- 1663: Marie Christine dies. Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy Nemours completes the decoration of the castle
- 1729: The north garden is designated as a Botanical Garden
- First half of the 19th century: The French army establishes here the Veterinary School; with the Restoration, the castle becomes the seat of the Corpo Pontieri di Artiglieria (a kind of military corps)
- Mid-19th century: Construction of the Valentino Urban Park begins
- 1858: The Castellamonti wings are demolished and side galleries are built. Domenico Ferri and Luigi Tonta restore the building
- Post 1861: The complex is used as the Royal School of Application for Engineersv1929: The Faculty of Architecture is founded and is based in the castlevsince 1970: Restoration of façades, roofs and rooms on the main floor
- Today: The castle is the seat of the School of Architecture of the Turin Polytechnic.
Marie Christine of France
Duchess of Savoy 1606-1663
Daughter of Henry IV King of France and Marie de' Medici. In 1619, she married Duke Victor Amadeus I of Savoy and in the same year she received the territory and castle of Valentino as a wedding gift from her father-in-law, Charles Emmanuel I. She proposed its transformation in two distinct phases: the first, between 1620 and 1621, involving the pre-existing building, and the second, from 1633 to 1660, in which the front pavilions, porticoed galleries and the hemicycle were built. From 1620 to 1637, she lived with her husband in Mirafiori Castle, which was mainly used as a place of recreation and as hunting lodge, transforming and adapting it. In 1621, by her design to integrate the city, the river and the hilly landscape, she extended the Valentino estate beyond the Po by purchasing the land around San Vito, where there was already a vineyard, redefining its boundaries. In 1622, she commissioned the reorganisation of the garden and the building's water system, known as the Vigna di Madama Reale, the Royal Lady’s Vineyard. She was widowed in 1637, and in 1638 became the regent on behalf of her second son Charles Emmanuel II. She was the regent up to her death, even after her son had come of age (1648). Intending to continue her husband's policy, she is accused of wanting Piedmont to be annexed to France.After her husband's death she chose Valentino Castle as her favourite residence, to the detriment of the Royal Park: in 1648, having obtained the approval of the Council of Factories and Fortifications for the project to remodel the Vigna di Madama Reale complex, she supervised the demolition of the old building and commissioned the construction of a new one, where she resided from 1653 until her death.
