Musei Reali

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 Shroud, the Armoury, the Royal Library, the Sabauda Gallery, the Museum of Antiquities, the Royal Gardens and the Chiablese Rooms. This is one of Italy’s most important museum systems, with collections spanning from prehistory to the 20th century, and it holds more than 50,000 archaeological artefacts, 200,000 books and 8,000 paintings and drawings.
The central element of the Royal Museums is the Royal Palace, the construction of which began in 1584, in compliance with the wishes of Duke Carlo Emanuele I. It is here that the main protagonists of Turin’s artistic and cultural renewal met: monarchs, architects, painters and sculptors who helped shape the modern face of the city. No fewer than twelve generations of monarchs resided in these opulent rooms, living their days at the pace of the court protocol.
The famous architects commissioned to update the decorative taste of the palace, Filippo Juvarra, Benedetto Alfieri and Pelagio Palagi, made the Royal Palace a unique and captivating residence over the centuries. The painted, carved and gilded ceilings realised by the court painters Jan Miel, Daniel Seiter and Claudio Francesco Beaumont depict ancient stories celebrating the power of the House of Savoy. In 1861, the Royal Palace assumed the role of the first royal palace of the newly unified Italy.
The Savoy family’s love of the arts is illustrated by the ambitious project to reorganise the collections promoted by King Carlo Alberto. The Royal Library, home to ancient manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts, etchings and drawings, including a valuable collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s autographs, was founded in 1831. The Royal Picture Gallery, now the Sabauda Gallery, was established in 1832, and houses works by Italian artists such as Duccio, Beato Angelico, Botticelli, Mantegna, Bronzino, Veronese and Tiepolo, which can be admired along with those of foreign artists such as Memling, van Eyck, Rubens, van Dyck and Rembrandt. The Museum of Antiquities is home to archaeological artefacts acquired from the late 16th century onwards by the dukes Emanuele Filiberto and Carlo Emanuele I, as well as finds from the archaeological digs of Augusta Taurinorum and the whole region of Piedmont.
Opened to the public in 1837, the Royal Armoury displays a vast collection of weapons and armour belonging to the Savoy family, and the Medal Room contains more than 60,000 medals, seals and coins.
The museum complex is completed by the Royal Gardens, which cover an area of seven hectares. Recently restored and freely accessible to the public, they are the ideal place to take a break in the city centre.
The Chiablese Rooms, on the ground floor of the palace of the same name, are used for temporary exhibitions, with particular reference to contemporary photography and the productions devoted by the Royal Museums to their vast heritage, both ancient and modern.