Musei Reali
The heart of the political and cultural power of the House of Savoy
The Royal Museums, a complex museum system
The Royal Museums, located in the heart of the so-called Command Zone, preserve the many stories of the city of Turin and the Savoy dynasty. They include the Royal Palace, the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, the Armoury, the Royal Library, the Savoy Gallery, the Museum of Antiquities, the Royal Gardens, and the Chiablese Halls. It is one of Italy's most important museum complexes, whose collections range from prehistory to the 20th century. They house more than 50,000 archaeological artefacts, 200,000 volumes, and 8,000 paintings and drawings.
The Royal Palace
The heart of the Royal Museums is the Royal Palace, which was started in 1584 at the behest of Duke Charles Emmanuel I. This is where the protagonists of the artistic and cultural renaissance of Turin met: kings, architects, painters and sculptors who helped to shape the modern city. As many as twelve generations of sovereigns have lived in the palace's sumptuous rooms, spending their days to ceremonial rhythm of the court.
Over the centuries, the famous architects Filippo Juvarra, Benedetto Alfieri, and Pelagio Palagi, who were called in to modernise the palace decoration, turned the Royal Palace into a fascinating and unique residence. In the painted, carved and gilded vaults, ancient fables celebrating the power of the House of Savoy were created by the court painters Jan Miel, Daniel Seiter, and Claudio Francesco Beaumont. In 1861, the Royal Palace plsyed the role of the first royal palace in the unified Italy.
The Royal Library
The House of Savoy loved the arts, and it can be seen in King Charles Albert’s ambitious project of reorganise their collection. The Royal Library was created in 1831 to house ancient manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts, engravings and drawings, as well as a valuable collection of Leonardo da Vinci's own drawings, including his famous Self-Portrait.
The Sabauda Gallery
The Royal Picture Gallery, now the Sabaudian Gallery, was created in 1832. Here which works by Italian artists including Duccio, Beato Angelico, Botticelli, Mantegna, Bronzino, Veronese, and Tiepolo, as well as foreign artists such as Memling, van Eyck, Rubens, van Dyck, and Rembrandt can be admired.
The Museum of Antiquities
The Museum of Antiquities houses archaeological artefacts acquired from the late 16th century onwards by the dukes Emmanuel Philibert and Charles Emmanuel I, as well as finds from the excavations in Augusta Taurinorum and in the Piedmont region.
The Royal Armoury
The Royal Armoury, which was first opened to the public in 1837, houses a vast collection of Savoy arms and armour. Its Medal Collection contains more than 60,000 medals, seals, and coins.
The museum complex is completed by the Royal Gardens, spreading over 7 hectares. Recently restored and freely accessible to the public, they are the ideal place to take a break in the city centre.
The Chiablese Halls
The Chiablese Halls, on the ground floor of the Palace of the same name, house temporary exhibitions, in particular contemporary photography and the productions that the Royal Museums devote to their vast heritage, both ancient and modern.
- 16th century: Pre-existence of the Episcopal Palace on the site of today's Royal Palace
- 1584: Ascanio Vitozzi designed the King’s new residence, with the redevelopment of the square (now Piazza Castello) and the construction of Via Nova (now Via Roma)
- 1607: construction of the Great Gallery
- 1643-1658: Marie-Christine of France entrusts the building site to Antonio Maurizio Valperga, who constructs the façade.
- 1668: Guarino Guarini starts the building site of the Chapel of the Shroud
- 1690: Daniel Seyter decorates the Levante Gallery, then named the Daniel Gallery
- 1721-1735: Filippo Juvarra carried out numerous interventions, including the Scissors Staircase and the elevation of the northern wing later destined for the Sovereign's Particular Archives
- 1731-1757: Juvarra and Benedetto Alfieri define the command area, seat of government bodies, on the northern side of Piazza Castello, closely connected to the Royal Palace
- 1738-1743: Claudius Beaumont renovates the decorative apparatus of the palace and the Levant Gallery (now the Royal Armoury)
- 1835: Palagio Palagi builds the bronze gate delimiting the Piazzetta Reale
- 1908: Emilio Stramucci builds the Manica Nuova, the current site of the Sabauda Gallery
- 1948: It becomes State property and is opened to the public
- 2014-2016: Under the name Royal Museums, the Royal Palace, the Royal Armoury, the Royal Library, the Sabauda Gallery, the Museum of Antiquities, and the Royal Gardens are united into a single entity.
- Today: The entire complex is managed by Musei Reali di Torino (Royal Museums of Turin), a museum of major national interest with special scientific, financial, accounting and organisational autonomy from the Ministry of Culture
EMANUEL PHILIBERT 1528 - 1580
Son of Charles II the Good and Beatrice of Portugal.
He began his political activity in the service of Emperor Charles V during the wars against France, which sought to occupy the Savoy territory. He was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580. In 1559, with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, he was granted the restitution of the duchy and married Margaret of Valois, daughter of François I, King of France. Under his rule, he laid the foundations of the administrative and military reconstruction of the still underdeveloped but fierce State of Savoy, a frontier area, heterogeneous within itself, destined to consolidate its role in the dynamics of international alliances and conflicts. Also linked to such a policy is the progressive acquisition of land around the capital, on which the duke started to build a series of residences to supplement the seat of the court in Turin: the “Crown of delights”. He resided and owned the Castle of Racconigi from 1560 to 1562, and in the same year he began the first restoration works to renovate the medieval building, which in 1575 he ceded to Renata of Baugé, countess and marquise of Tenda. In 1564, he bought from Renato Birago the land on which the Castle of Valentino was to be built, and then he ceded it temporarily, until 1577, to John de Brosses, treasurer to his wife Margaret of Valois. In 1565, he bought the Viboccone land in the Royal Park north-west of the city and commissioned a redevelopment of the park. In 1573, he bought back from General Charles Brissac the land on which the Stupinigi Hunting Lodge was to be built.
