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VILLA SAVOIA
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An old exteior view of Villa Savoia, in the thierties few changes were done.
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Queen Elena's bedroom
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RACCONIGI CASTLE - CASTELLO REALE DI RACCONIGI
WORLD HERITAGE - UNESCO
The Committee decided to inscribe this property on the basis of criteria (I), (II), (IV) and (V), considering that the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in and around Turin represent a comprehensive overview of European monumental architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries, using style, dimensions, and space to illustrate in an exceptional way the prevailing doctrine of absolute monarchy in material terms.
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Racconigi Castle is in Piemonte (Italy) in the Cuneo province (about 40 km from Turin). The Italian State is now the owner of the castle since 1980, it is visitable every day expect for monday.
Piazza Carlo Alberto - 12035 Racconigi (CN) - Tel. ++39-172-84005
Opened from 8.30 to 19.30
Castle:
€ 5,00
Castle Park:
€ 2,00
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An aerial view of the Castle
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HISTORY of the "CASTELLO di RACCONIGI"
The majestic Royal Castle of Racconigi is a unique example of the fusion of various artistic elements created during more than seven centuries. The very long period of reconstruction, restoration and remodelling that began in the second half of the seventeenth century, accelerating intensely in the 1830s and ‘40s, is clearly apparent in the architecture and decorations existing today. Included among the patrimonial estates of the House of Savoy, the Castello Reale di Racconigi was probably one of the Savoys’ favourite buildings. They lived there until 1946, using it to house their collection of family portraits and as the preferred site, especially during the last decades of their rule, for particularly symbolic occasions such as the birth of heirs, for weddings and for receiving foreign heads of State.
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Racconigi is a vast and complex residence, where the memory of a centuries-old past and life at court magically intertwined amidst official state commitments and daily “private” life is still alive and tangible (see the second floor apartments). Here, perhaps more than at any other Savoy Residence, we can sense the almost bourgeois lifestyle of the leading members of the House of Savoy during the Reign of Italy, especially during the first few decades of the twentieth century.
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The Castello di Racconigi has two spectacular façades (the one facing the town and the other facing the park) are the regal ones typically associated with a royal castle. The characteristics of the original fortified structure have been lost almost entirely and what little remains can only be seen in parts of the foundation. Nevertheless, a medieval castle once stood on this same site. It had been built to defend the populated area that had developed in the vast, fertile plain to the right of the Màira stream. This was probably not long after the territorial division of the government in 1091, when the area of Racconigi (then belonging to the Marquise Adelaide) was passed on to Bonifacio del Vasto. For a long time Racconigi remained part of marquisate of Saluzzo. The history of the House of Savoy records that it was passed on to the Savoia-Acaja princes at the beginning of the thirteenth century. They held it until 1418, when, upon the death of Giacomo d’Acaja (the last leading member of the lineage) the feud was handed down to his natural son Ludovico d'Acaja, Count of Racconigi. When Bernardino II, the last of his descendants, died in 1605 (causing the extinction of the Savoia-Racconigi line) Duke Carlo Emanuele I assigned the Castle and land to his younger son Tommaso (1620), along with the title of Prince of Savoia-Carignano, thus giving rise to the Savoy cadet line that with Carlo Alberto would ascend to the throne in 1831.
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We have no news of important work on the Castello di Racconigi until the middle of the seventeenth century. At that time it still had the square ground plan, internal courtyard and four corner embattled towers that are typical of a medieval castle, and which can still be made out in the engraving that the “Theatrum Sabaudiae” assigns to “Racconigi, città nobilissima di Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, principe di Carignano” (Racconigi very nouble city belonging to Emanuele Filiberto Amedeo of Savoia Prince of Carignano). The plate for the engraving is probably the work of architect Tommaso Borgonio around 1666-69 and does not really represent a situation actually existing at the time, but is, rather, a plan that was never even started.
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The Theatrum Sabaudiae view
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Nevertheless, the part of the engraving concerning the castle is important because it shows that the designs for reconstructing the castle to meet the new needs of the princely residence were in a crucial phase, even though progress will still be slow. (Another design by Borgonio is known to have been entrusted to the ducal engineer Carlo Morello about ten years earlier). In 1671 the architect Carlo Emanuele Lanfranchi proposed still another idea. He designed a large square with arcades and two churches standing opposite the southern façade, which gave greater importance to the symbolic significance of a princely residence.
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All of the plans for renovating and enlarging the old medieval structures had been prepared by 1675, they had basically been left on paper and never carried out; the first, real remodelling (in reality rebuilding) of the entire edifice was set into motion only in the last twenty-five years of the seventeenth century. The Castle immediately becomes one of the greatest European Baroque architectural achievements of that century. Designed by the great architect Guarino Guarini, it has the same brilliance and sparkling inventiveness that had already come to characterise his other works. Guarini had arrived in the Savoy capital in 1666 to serve the court, and particularly the princes of Savoia-Carignano, and had already designed the extraordinary dome of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud that is joined to the Cathedral. Two years later he also provided the designs and plans for the dome of the ducal Church of San Lorenzo, in Turin as well.
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In 1675 Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia-Carignano gave Guarini the task of studying a plan for the restoration of the “palacio di delicie a Racconigi”. Since it had been decided that the façade facing the large park should be the first part to be rebuilt, becouse Prince Emanuele Filiberto used to arrive from Turin, and Turin is in the north as regards the position of Racconigi. The demolition work on the medieval structures to the west began the very next year. As was his custom, Guarini prepared countless ideas, sketches and designs; many were his own, while others were by his collaborators. His design for the reconstruction of the castle preserved the general, planimetrical layout of a central, square building (the courtyard covered and made into a sumptuous reception hall) and widened the four corner towers, thus doubling their size and transforming the defensive structures into stately, residential wings. Guarini wanted also to built an imposing staircase "a collo d'oca" with statues and busts.
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The reconstruction of the castle began immediately while Guarini, in the meantime, was involved in other important projects. One of these was Palazzo Carignano in Turin, where he had been working since 1679 for the very same princes who had engaged him at Racconigi. Progress on the castle was rapid and did not slow down even when the architect suddenly left Piedmont in 1681. One year after the death of Guarini in Milan, in August 1684, the building to the north and the two side wings, surmounted by a small, lantern-niche, were completed; the large, two-tiered, central pavilion (with a curious shape somewhat like an oriental pagoda) was finished in 1685.
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A delightful view from the Royal Park
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The reconstruction of the Castle came to a sudden halt shortly thereafter. While the reasons for this are not exactly clear, they can, perhaps, be put down to the financial decisions made by the princes of Savoia-Carignano and the death of Emanuele Filiberto in 1709. Nevertheless, certain parts of Guarini’s magnificent design (a true triumph of Baroque architecture for a civil residence of great size) were completed, including the central area, corresponding to the castle courtyard, and the northern façade facing the park. The Savoia-Carignano princes show little renewed interest in their Castle of Racconigi until the second half of the eighteenth century, when artistic tastes begin to change and late-Baroque progressively gives way to the first neo-classicism. The south façade was not touched by Guarini and so Racconigi looked like a castle with two towers and a central donjon.
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The central donjon with the drawbridge, the moat and other medieval structures
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From: Bellitalia-Mondadori
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Ludovico Vittorio decided to finish the south façade in the second half of XVIII century and the new work is entrusted to the architect Giovan Battista Borra, whose already precocious, neo-classical awareness inspires him to reinterpret the structure of the main reception hall (in lines still visible today) and to start the central part of the new southern façade facing the town.
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The neoclassic façade designed by Giovan Battista Borra
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The Borra façade, an expression of pure neo-classicism, features a four-column, Palladian pronaos, with triangular tympanum, projecting at the front, and intentionally restrained decorative elements: pilasters with white marble capitals bearing elegant curvilinear ionic scrolls; military trophies, helmets, shields and banners on the tympanum; large, stone decorative vases along the edge of the roof moulding. Ludovico wanted also the inscription under the tympanum: LUDOVICUS A SABAUDIA MDCCLVII (Ludovico of Savoia 1757).
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A present view of the Castle
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The last important building and decorating season for the Castello di Racconigi begins in 1831 with the ascent to the throne of the cadet line, the princes of Savoia-Carignano, and the reign of Carlo Alberto. The young King had a particular fondness for Racconigi because it had been the centre of his family’s patrimonial estates for more than two hundred years, and he entrusts the new work to the architect Ernest Melano, who was already involved in restoring and remodelling other Savoy Residences in those years. In order to satisfy the need for additional residential space at the now Royal Castle, the architect extends both of the façades even further (the one facing the town has two side wings added that are lower than those created by Guarini and Borra) and then connects them with two constructions to the east and west, thereby forming two new, internal, rectangular courtyards. The iron rail fence was added in 1842, with the demolition of some of the medieval blocks, to separate the area in front of the southern façade of the castle from the large open square, but also to create an entryway. The start of the first Independence war stopped all the works.
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The old castle with the east and west wings built by Ernest Melano in order to satisfy the needs of a Royal court
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ESTERNI/383512bb.jpg)
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The south-west pavillion of the south-west wing
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After Vittorio Emanuele II and Umerto I's reigns there was a deep, renewed interest in the Castello Reale di Racconigi by King Vittorio Emanuele III. The King had a particular preference for the Castle and would have his son Umberto II born in 1904. Every year the King and his Family leaved Rome to Racconigi in order to spend their holidays in peace. The old Castle was choosen becouse of its position (it is near Turin but in a very calm place). Vittorio Emanuele III would also receive Czar Nicholas II of Russia there five years later, while the Czar was on an official State visit to sign the “Treaty of Racconigi”. During the years there were other royal guests such as Franz Josef of Battenberg and Anna of Montenegro, Manuel II of Portugal, the Belgian Royal Family in 1923. King Albert and Vittorio Emanuele III wanted their sons Leopoldo (II) and Giovanna (later Queen of Bulgaria) to know in order of a future marriage, like Umberto II and Maria Josè. The Sovereigns of Montenegro went in 1918. Racconigi was also choosen by Princess Mafalda for her marriage with Philip of Hessen-Kassel in 1925. Vittorio Emanuele III gave the castle to his son Umberto II as marriage gift in 1930. Since 1920 Umberto started collecting portraits and paintings linked to his Royal House. They were taken from other castles, especially from Moncalieri castle, and Umberto transformed the long 1° floor and 3° floor galleries into art collections with portraits of members of the Royal Family. After the Monarchy' s fall, there was a long judicial controversy between the Italian State and the Royal House. His Majesty Umberto II won. The Castle was anyway bought by the Italian State in 1980 after the Royal House, who could not afford the huge maintenance charges, decided to sell it.
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The castle in a waterpaint dated 1845, after five centuries the castle is now complete
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Interiors of the Castle: 1° FLOOR
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The first floor of the Castle houses the State apartment, the Chapel, and guest apartments. The King, the Queen and the Royal family lived in the second floor or, such as in XIX century, also in the third floor.
The interiors room of the Castle are a unique ensemble of different styles, from the baroque to Charle X style. Carlo Alberto modified almost all the old rooms in 1830-40, but a few of the rooms designed by Giovan Battista Borra towards the middle of the seventeenth century have been well-preserved and have symbolic importance. One example is the regal entrance hall known as Salone d’Ercole, which features exquisite stucco work and an open gallery supported by six, spectacular, fluted ionic columns. The statues in niches representing the Fatiche di Ercole (the Labours of Hercules), the bas-relief on the walls with hunting trophies and putti and the door decorations (also with hunting trophies) are all the work of Giuseppe Bolina.
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1 - Salone d'Ercole (Ercole's Hall)
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Giovan Battista Borra and Bolina are also responsible for the Sala di Diana, completed around 1755. It features stucco work bas-relief enclosed within oval or mixtilinear cornices and is dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. It had a symbolic meaning becouse Savoia Family liked hunt very much, it was considered a sport but also an exercise for the war infact Sabaudian Kings used to fight during the battles.
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2 - Sala di Diana (Diana's room)
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There is also the delightful “Appartamento cinese”. It dates to the middle of the eighteenth century and is composed of several rooms whose walls are entirely covered with wallpaper painted in tempera, depicting landscapes and scenes of life in China. It was probably made in Dutch workshops and then acquired in London in 1756 by Ludovico Vittorio. The "Appartamento cinese" was also used by King Carlo Felice in 1821-1830 and King Carlo Alberto.
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21 - Appartamento Cinese: terzo salotto (Chinese Apartment: third drawing room)
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22 - Appartemento Cinese: camera da letto dello Zar(Chinese Apartment: Czar's bedroom)
The Chinese Apartment is the only one in all the castle with a central heating plant, becouse it was prepared for the visit of the Czar in 1909. We have to remember it was a summer estate used in may,
june and september and also we must remember the well known Sabaudian parsimony, a rare virtue
so typical of our August Royal House. Since Czar's visit the room was conserved in his rememebrance.
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20 - Appartamento Cinese: secondo salotto (Chinese Apartment: second drawing room)
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King Carlo Alberto entrusts all of the new interior decorating to Pelagio Palagi (the painter, decorator, sculptor and interpreter par excellence of the King’s tastes) who was also working on other courtly Savoy residences at that time (Palazzo Reale in Turin and the new parish Church of Pollenzo). Palagi’s work at Racconigi brought about a complete, formal and decorative reinvention of style that suited the King’s personal, eclectic taste and those of his time as well. The interior of the Castle became characterised by the restoration and revival of perfect imitations of Etruscan and Roman decorations, but Neo-classical and Empire style as well, and is the image that is still pre-eminent at Racconigi today.
The decorations and furnishings are certainly the most prominent feature at the Castello di Racconigi. In terms of quality and quantity they represent the epitome of the artistic tastes of King Carlo Alberto and of the artists he commissioned, as well as the typically nineteenth-century preference for classical revival, ranging from Etruscan to Egyptian to Imperial Rome. The results are magnificently courtly, as can be seen in the splendid Sala di ricevimento created by Pelagio Palagi. It sparkles with gold and bright yellows and is embellished with furniture made by the cabinetmaker and carver Gabriele Capello, who was also very active for Carlo Alberto at several other Savoy Residences.
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4 - Sala di Ricevimento (Reception room)
Racconigi has not a throne room, becouse it is a summer residence, but Carlo Alberto needed a room where receiving ministers
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4 - Sala di Ricevimento (Reception room)
There are two portraits of Carlo Alberto and his wife they should remember the presence of the King
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4 - Sala di Ricevimento (Reception room)
Windows side of the room with a bust of Queen Maria Adelaide
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Is less ornate, but suffused with antique elegance: the Sala da pranzo, shiny stucco walls, columns and fluted pilasters in white Carrara marble and gilded Corinthian capitals. The statues of the “Four Seasons” in the niches are made of white Carrara marble as well. Several rooms, such as the Gabinetto etrusco, are devoted to the revival of Etruscan designs set within very evident, geometric segments and the same style is apparent in the furniture and floors. Other rooms, however, like the Galleria di Eolo, the exquisite Sala dei dignitari or Sala del caffè, the Gabinetto di Apollo have sumptuous decorations pertaining to the classical, imperial Latin period, which excavations at Pompei were bringing to light in just those very years. Palagi realised another masterpiece in the ground floor of the Castle: Carlo Alberto’s Greek bath.
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3 - Sala dei Dignitari o Sala del Caffé (Coffee room)
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This room was also used as smoking room by Carlo Alberto and the men of the Royal Court, the Queen and the other women used to stay in the first room of the Chinese Apartment that is near the dining room.
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3 - Sala dei Dignitari o Sala del Caffé (Coffee room)
There are two busts in the sides of the fireplace, they represents Maria Pia and Maria Clotilde
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6 - Gabinetto Etrusco (Etruscan room)
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6 - Gabinetto Etrusco (Etruscan room)
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The Etruscan room was used by Carlo Alberto as study, it is considered a masterpiece, maybe the most beautiful room in the Castle. Capello won the first prize at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London for the central table.
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5 - Gabinetto di Apollo (Apollo's room)
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5 - Gabinetto di Apollo (Apollo's room)
All along the walls are represented important Greek, Latin and Italian poets and writers, you can recognize Torquato Tasso, Lodovico Ariosto, Teocrito and Orazio. In the fregio (frieze) are painted the Olympic games
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8 - Galleria di Eolo (Eolo's gallery)
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The Queen used to play at whist in this room in the evening, the King used to play billiards in the adjoining room.
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7 - Sala del biliardo (Billiard room)
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There was a beautiful plaster frieze depicting the Triumph of Lucius Aemilius Paulus all along the walls (where now there is the painted frieze). It was realized by Palagi, it was damaged by water infilitration (there is a terrace under the billiard room) and it was removed. Some pieces were discovered and saved.
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The billiard table is oversized, becouse it is taller than commons billiard table infact it was realised for Carlo Alberto who was 2 mt tall.
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9 - Galleria del Cinema (Cinema's Gallery)
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9 - Galleria del Cinema (Cinema's Gallery)
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Galleria del Cinema (Cinema's Gallery)
Vittorio Emanuele III and Queen Elena used to show motion pictures in this room. The first projection was reserved for the Royal Family, then also the servants could watch. Of course at the time of Vittorio Emanuele III there were not all these portraits.
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9 - Galleria del Cinema (Cinema's Gallery)
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17 - Anticamera della Sala da pranzo (Dining room antechamber)
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18 - Sala da pranzo (Dining room)
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18 - Sala da pranzo (Dining room)
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The original table made by Peters was moved to another room of the Castle, in the 2° floor, the chairs are original of Carlo Alberto's time.
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23 - Galleria F detta del Cardinale (F Gallery)
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Many portraits have been hung on the walls by Umberto II, this set of real size portrait come fro Moncalieri Castle, this was a set starting with Beroldo and ending with Vittorio Emanuele II, it was commissioned by Vittorio Amedeo III. We can recognize Amedeo IX in the right.
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25 - Galleria F (F Gallery)
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16 - Sala del Mappamondo (Globe's room)
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16 - Sala del Mappamondo (Globe's room)
This room houses a set of equestrian portraits said the "serie a cavallo", they were taken from Moncalieri too. We can see Vittorio Amedeo I. The door shows Cinati and Trifoglio's gallery
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10 - Galleria di Cinati e Trifoglio (Cinati and Trifoglio's gallery)
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An old photo of the gallery with Umberto II's collection. It is important also becouse Umberto II assembled not only portraits, but also busts, statues, paintings of Royal Palaces. He was interested in all concerned His August House.
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10 - Galleria di Cinati e Trifoglio (Cinati and Trifoglio's gallery)
This photo was taken in 1980 when the gallery was full of portraits, now they have been taken away, becouse they ruined the painted walls
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10 - Galleria di Cinati e Trifoglio (Cinati and Trifoglio's gallery)
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Cinati and Trifoglio were the painters of the grotesquerie that covers all the sides and the ceiling. This gallery was used to link the guest apartment (now called Vittorio Emanuele III and Queen Elena's one) to the main part of the Castle. It was used in 1840 and in 1842 by Ranieri the viceroy of the Lombardo-Veneto.
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When Vittorio Emanuele III gave the castle to his son, he renounced also to live in his apartement at the second floor that became Maria Josè's one. Umberto II instead lived in the former apartment of Vittorio Emanuele II. So Umberto II wanted to furnish an apartment for his Parents in case they came to Racconigi. He chose the guest apartment, it is in the south part of the left Melano's new wing facing the avant court of the Castle.
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11 - Anticamera (Antechamber)
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12 - Sala della musica (Music's room, Queen Elena's drawing room)
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13 - Camera da letto della Regina Elena (Queen Elena's bedroom)
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13 - Camera da letto della Regina Elena (Queen Elena's bedroom)
The cradle was realised by Capello, and it was designed by Palagi
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Many say the cradle was Vittorio Emanuele II's one, and it was the famous cradle where he slept when a fire broke out caused accidentally by his nunny Teresa Racca. It is not true, the cradle was made for Princess Clotilde wife of Gerome Bonaparte.
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Those rooms were used in 1842 by Ranieri and Maria Elisabetta during Vittorio Emanuele (II) and Maria Adelaide's wedding.
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14 - Sala gialla (Yellow room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/7c080d3b.jpg)
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The great painting neat the fireplace represents the "Ostensione della Sacra Sindone in Piazza Castello a Torino" (Ostension of the Holy Shroud in Piazza Castello-Turin), it is by Peter Borgomans. We can also recognize two portraits of Carlo Emanuele (IV) and Vittorio Amedeo II.
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15 - Camera da letto di Vittorio Emanuele III (Vittorio Emanuele III's bedroom)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/572e978c.jpg)
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15 - Camera da letto di Vittorio Emanuele III (Vittorio Emanuele III's bedroom)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/3b8df7c4.jpg)
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All the furnitures of this apartment are very rich and they are made in maple tree. They were realized in 1840 by Palagi and Capello for the Duke of Savoia's marriage (Vittorio Emanuele II). They were in the apartment of the second floor, wich was then used by Umberto II.
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28 - Cappella (Chapel)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/5c571fd3.jpg)
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28 - Cappella (Chapel)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/23a26363.jpg)
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Princess Mafalda married Philip von Hessen in this room in 1925. The religious ceremony took place in the ground floor, the chapel has an apse comunicating with the Eolo's gallery, so the guests could see the marriage from it, becouse the chapel is not very big.
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Interiors of the Castle: 2° floor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/cf6c1097.jpg)
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1 - Scalone d'onore del 2° piano (The 2° floor main staircase)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/876a14e2.jpg)
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1 - Scalone d'onore del 2° piano (The 2° floor main staircase)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/cca43261.jpg)
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The main staircase was restored during the reign of King Vittorio Emanuele III. The painter was Dalbesio. His paintings are fresh, coloured and very pretty, there are all the "armorial bearings" of the House of Savoia, and also a great genealogical tree from Humbert "aux blanches mains" to King Vittorio Emanuele IV and his sisters.
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1 - Scalone d'onore del 2° piano - soffitto (The 2° floor main staircase - ceiling)
In the ceiling are rapresented the Feuds of Savoia-Carignano branch: Carignano, Racconigi, Barge, Cavallermaggiore, Pollenzo, Carmagnola.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/f08eb0fa.jpg)
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2 - Anticamera del 2° piano (2° floor Antechamber)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/6567c948.jpg)
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Carlo Alberto and Maria Teresa's apartment is very little. There are four rooms and a small chapel. All the rooms are in perfect English style, all the furnitures are by Palagi and Peters. Umberto II got together an original collection of portraits, waterpaints, paintings linked to Carlo Alberto, Vittorio Emanuele and their wifes.
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3 - Sala da pranzo del 2° piano, già Camera della Regina Maria Teresa (Maria Teresa' s bedroom 2° floor Dining room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/7136c8f6.jpg)
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3 - Sala da pranzo del 2° piano, già Camera della Regina Maria Teresa (Maria Teresa' s bedroom 2° floor Dining room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/e6491054.jpg)
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The table comes from the 1° floor dining room, it was moved in XIX century becouse the Royal Family used to eat near their private rooms. The painting in the centre of the wall represents a project for Rivoli Castle as it should be according to architect Juvarra's idea.
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7 - Studio privato di Carlo Alberto (Carlo Alberto's private study)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/488df9e6.jpg)
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7 - Studio privato di Carlo Alberto (Carlo Alberto's private study)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/9a7196e7.jpg)
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The second floor is more little than 1° floor becouse the Melano's new wing have only ground floor and first floor.
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8 - Sala di lettura, detta anche sala del palchetto (Parquet room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/6f061ebd.jpg)
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8 - Sala di lettura, detta anche sala del palchetto (Parquet room)
Many portraits in this room as all the other ones, there are 3000 objects d'art (paintings, busts etc).
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/6e1382c0.jpg)
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9 - Salone verde, detto Sala del Cignaroli (Green room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/2a6649ab.jpg)
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The green room was the antechamber of Umberto II and Maria Josè's apartment. They had two bedrooms, instead of Vittorio Emanuele III and Queen Elena.
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10 - 11 -12 - 13 -14 - Umberto II's rooms are very simple, I don't have photos of them at the moment. All his furnitures were moved to Cascais Villa Italia (in Portugal) where our King was forced to live in exile.
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The apartment is composed by four rooms, and, as all the castle rooms, is full of paintings of Savoia's Kings, Queens and Princes.
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15 - Camera della Regina Elena, poi di Maria José (Queen Elena's bedroom, then Maria Josè's one)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/8ce6c402.jpg)
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15 - Camera della Regina Elena, poi di Maria José (Queen Elena's bedroom, then Maria Josè's one)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/ee14c391.jpg)
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Umberto II was born in this room the 15 of September 1904 at 11 p.m. The furnitures are English and they were made by Warrings. Queen Elena saw this furniture in a yacht and she wanted to reply it.
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19 - Corridoio della servitù (Servants Corridor)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/b0fe5698.jpg)
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20 - Salone d'Ercole visto dalla palco dei musici (Ercole's Hall seen from musicians platform)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/09b35e4c.jpg)
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20 - Salone d'Ercole - dalla palco dei musici (Ercole's Hall - musicians platform)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/df6695ae.jpg)
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20 - Salone d'Ercole - dalla palco dei musici (Ercole's Hall - musicians platform)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/67d00891.jpg)
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22 - Appartamento di Marianna di Chiablese (Marianna di Chiablese's apartment)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/0a87ebb6.jpg)
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21 - Piccola Anticamera (Small Antechamber)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/52e5895b.jpg)
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Interiors of the Castle: 3° floor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/480162df.jpg)
There are small apartments for the members of the Royal Court and other members of the House of Savoia.
All the rooms are full of portraits as a picture gallery, but it is also a warehouse for many paintings, becouse there is no space for them in first or second floor.
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11 - Prima camera dell'appartamento-est (East apartment's First room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/8a769711.jpg)
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11 - Prima camera dell'appartamento-est (East apartment's First room)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/6c7abcba.jpg)
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10 - Seconda camera dell'appartamento-est (East apartment's Second room)
The apartments like this one streching the east and west galleries were inhabited by Sabaudian Princesses such as Jolanda, Mafalda, Giovanna e Maria during the XIX century.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/eacbdc8f.jpg)
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5 - Appartamento di Eugenio di Villafranca (Eugenio di Villafranca's apartament)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/03d9be64.jpg)
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5 - Appartamento di Eugenio di Villafranca (Eugenio di Villafranca's apartament)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/9d904357.jpg)
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5 - Appartamento di Eugenio di Villafranca (Eugenio di Villafranca's apartament)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/5db7f287.jpg)
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Racconigi has a great collection of musical istruments, such as Queen Margherita's harp and Mafalda's piano.
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4 - Appartamento di Eugenio di Villafranca (Eugenio di Villafranca's apartament)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/cd35b17f.jpg)
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4 - Appartamento di Eugenio di Villafranca (Eugenio di Villafranca's apartament)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/fd081302.jpg)
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Eugenio Emanuele of Villafranca was Giuseppe Maria' son. He belonged to Savoia-Carignano branch descending from Eugenio Maria Ilarione. During the Royal stay he lived in this pretty apartment, right above Carlo Alberto's one.
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1 - Galleria Ovest (West Gallery)
There are other equestrian portraits of the "serie a cavallo", we can recognize Amedeo V.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/30d2c3a5.jpg)
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1 - Galleria Ovest (West Gallery)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/dd0b2091.jpg)
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3 - Galleria Ovest - anticamera (West Gallery - antechamber)
On the wall there is Amdedeo VIII who became Pope with the name of Felice V
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/5f345617.jpg)
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6 - Galleria di collegamento tra la Galleria Ovest e la Galleria Est (Gallery)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/92c4444b.jpg)
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7 - Galleria Est (East Gallery)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/e30988eb.jpg)
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The long galleries of the third floor are a unique example of Royal collecting. Umberto II started his collection at the age of 15. During the Belgian Royal visit in 1923 Maria Josè could observ an ancestors gallery created by Umberto with portraits already conserved in the Castle.
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8 - Camera degli ospiti (Guest bedroom)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/cb12ae61.jpg)
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8 - Camera degli ospiti (Guest bedroom)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/61247fe6.jpg)
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The guests bedrooms were used for guests and Princes of Royal families except for Kings and Queens.
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The north-east pavillion of the third floor houses some little guests rooms, used by members of the Royal Court.
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Camere varie (Other rooms)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/5997aabb.jpg)
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Camere varie (Other rooms)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/f397498b.jpg)
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Una delle due scale che portano al 3° piano (Third floor stairs)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/da860a87.jpg)
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As you can see the third floor is not very well conserved infact a great restoration is going to start.
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Piantine (Floor plans)
Ground floor (1980) this and the other one are not scale drawings, the top of the floor plans is considered the north
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/5c63b9b8.jpg)
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1° floor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/ae83eb64.jpg)
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2° floor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/7e84fd1b.jpg)
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3° floor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/c178363e.jpg)
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4° floor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/9fbe8f56.jpg)
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1° floor (1860)
You can see the right wing where there is a large saloon (marked with one asterisk), it is now divided in five rooms said Cardinal's apartment. Also the cinema gallery in the the left wing facing the small courtyard dosen't still exist. Infact it was made by Vittorio Emanuele III removing the little apartment that you can see composed by four rooms.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/54fcc48c.jpg)
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1° floor (1740)
This is floorplan is of the XVIII century, as you can see there aren't still the lateral wings added by Melano in 1830-40. The room marked with one asterisk was an alcove, Palagi destroyed the south wall and joined the budoir in order to create the dining room. The room marked with two asterisks was the old Chapel. It had a round shape, at the first floor there was the Royal tribune.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PIANTE/489d7cb4.jpg)
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The gardens of the Castle
Racconigi has beautiful park of 170 hectares. The park is entirely fenced-in, it is structurally and environmentally wedded to the Castle, as well as being a historic-naturalistic asset of extraordinary value and interest. For a long period of time it continued to be developed and organised into fields, small woods, romantic ponds and facilities associated with the economic and recreational life at the Castle.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ESTERNI/c16c6279.jpg)
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Tommaso di Savoia-Carignano, progenitor of the House of Savoy, entrusted the architect Carlo di Castellamonte with the original landscaping and it is important to note that the princes always took great care of the charming park. They commissioned important architects specialised in horticulture to care for the plants (now centuries old) and the park was embellished with statues, fountains and small streams and waterfalls, as well as greenhouses and winter shelters for specific and more delicate cultivation. Among the architects working there were André Le Nôtre (as early as 1670) the most important and sought after horticultural designer in the Baroque period and the great French specialist Michel Bernard (1746), who gave the entire park a spectacular “French” arrangement. These choices were modified by Giacomo Pregliasco in the last twenty years of the eighteenth century and particularly by Xavier Kurten (appointed park director in 1820). He landscaped the gardens according to the dictates of the Romantic tastes prevalent at the time, by introducing a large variety of long-stemmed plants (some exotic) and a spectacular arrangement characterised by the twisting and turning of the paths and the charming views that suddenly came into view. Various facilities were also constructed inside the park, both for its management and as romantic oases for relaxation amidst nature.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ACQUERELLI/66ac6d83.jpg)
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In 1823, Ferdinando Bonsignore built an observation tower in Neo-classical style in the north-west corner of the fence and in various years a number of other constructions were completed: the “Hermitage” (used as an aviary), the “pony stable”, the “Doric temple” and the “cave of Merlin the Magician”. Nevertheless, the two most important buildings are the so-called “Margherie” and the “Serre” (greenhouses). The former, created around 1834 on a design by Pelagio Palagi (in collaboration with Carlo Sada), is a romantically-inspired, neo-Gothic complex- almost like a “small castle”- composed of various rooms devoted mainly to hunting, but also including a chapel frescoed by Francesco Gonin. And the “Serre”, with their slender, elegant lines, are one of the most beautiful examples of neo-Gothic art existing in Italy today. During the first half of the XIX century the park was also provided with lawn tennis fields. Queen Elena and her children loved very much spending their time in the garden and there are a lot of photos in the Royal Albums.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PARCO/0610556f.jpg)
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The greenhouse made by Carla Sada. It was used in 1925 for Mafalda and Philip von Hessen marriage's banquets.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PARCO/1c607141.jpg)
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Le Margherie, it is a neogotic building made for Carlo Alberto in the top side of the park. It was used as a stable. The right tower houses also the Reposoir of the Queen Maria Teresa.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/923f33b3.jpg)
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Vittorio Emanuele III, Queen Elena, Jolanda, Mafalda and Umberto (II) near the greenhouse.
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The arriving of the Czar in 1909, Queen Elena kissed Nicholas II in the forehead according to a russian tradition.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/7f53f661.jpg)
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The Czar arrived at Racconigi station and then he and the king went to the castle. The crowd was very happy but there were some who did not like the Czar becouse of His absolute power
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/13075fec.jpg)
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Mafalda and Philip von Hessen's wedding photo with the family
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/e49f5ea7.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PARCO/82ec4a7f.jpg)
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Another photo of Mafalda's marriage. It was taken in the south façade when Mafalda, Philip and their families saluted the crowd
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/fb148107.jpg)
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The garden staircase today
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ESTERNI/16060911.jpg)
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Vittorio Emanuele III with his wife and the Battenbergs in Racconigi Park, behinf them you can see a little neogotic building used as a gate
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/9ca5cbfd.jpg)
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TURIN ROYAL PALACE - IL PALAZZO REALE DI TORINO
WORLD HERITAGE - UNESCO
The Committee decided to inscribe this property on the basis of criteria (I), (II), (IV) and (V), considering that the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in and around Turin represent a comprehensive overview of European monumental architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries, using style, dimensions, and space to illustrate in an exceptional way the prevailing doctrine of absolute monarchy in material terms.
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Below: an aerial view of the Royal Palace
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/f9f6736b.jpg)
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HISTORY of the Turin Royal Palace
Despite being considerably set back from the regularly aligned buildings facing piazza Castello, Palazzo Reale holds great architectural and environmental importance in the urban layout of Turin’s historic centre. The location of the imposing edifice is not accidental, but had been carefully planned ever since the beginning of the first half of the seventeenth century. By then the capital of Savoy had been definitively transferred from Chambéry to the banks of the Po. The House of Savoy was well-rooted in Piedmont and two important projects had been initiated: the construction of a new seat of ducal power and the colossal plan that would deeply change the city that continued to be enclosed within Roman walls.
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The arrangement visually accentuates the “superior” importance assigned to the building, as the seat and symbol of power (first ducal, then royal). Yet it still maintains a profound integration with the town layout of the historical centre, some of which is rebuilt and remodeled to suit the needs of Palazzo Reale itself. When Emanuele Filiberto chose the site for the building that would become the residence of the House of Savoy and the official seat of power, it was certainly not a chance decision. Returning to Turin in 1563 after the French troops had retreated, the Duke already had a palace at his disposal: the castle built by the Savoia-Acaja princes (a collateral branch of the Family) next to the towers of one of the Roman gates to the city (present-day Palazzo Madama) and which with time had become identified as the seat of the territorial civil government.
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Yet despite its prestigious history and particular “political” significance, the castle still maintained the characteristics of a late-medieval military edifice, was certainly uncomfortable and, in any case, not befitting the image that Emanuele Filiberto wanted to give to himself and the House of Savoy. Erecting an entirely new palace on a different site, yet still in the ancient heart of Turin, responded to the need of sending a subtle ideological message (both inside and outside the Savoy State) that signified the end of an era and the beginning of a new historical phase: the definitive establishment of the House of Savoy on this side of the Alps. From this perspective, the area near the Cathedral of San Giovanni, at the time occupied by the “casa dei canonici” (sacerdotal house) and the Bishop Palace, held particular importance for the Duke.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/3e8bdd5b.jpg)
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Above: Turin plan (1572) it is by Giovanni Carracha. It shows the area of the Royal Palace before its costruction. Infact we can see the Bishop Palace adjoining the Cathedral, we can see also the Castle (Palazzo Madama) with two round towers facing the square and other two facing the bastion.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/a518af69.jpg)
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Above: an aerial view of the Bishop Palace, the Cathedral and of Emanuele Filiberto's palace: San Giovanni Palace also called "Palazzo Reale vecchio". It was the first ducal residence and it was commissioned by Emanuele Filiberto, becouse he needed a Palace for his private apartments.
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Emanuele Filiberto knew that the construction of the new palace for the "official purpose of the Ducal Court" on the area of the Bishop Palace would have made it possible to unify the two seats of power (religious and civil) without any interference. Furthermore, the area between the Roman towers of “Porta Palatina” and the Cathedral (rebuilt in Renaissance style in 1498 by cardinal Domenico Della Rovere) preserved fascinating memories of the past.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/6f5ea1d7.jpg)
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Above: the cathedral of Turin is joined to the Royal Palace. The façade of the cathedral is in pure reinassance style, the architect is Meo del Caprino.
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No trace remains of the first ducal residence commissioned by Emanuele Filiberto. It was located north of the Cathedral in what is now the “manica nuova” area along via XX Settembre.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/08ede9bf.jpg)
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Above: an aerial view of the "manica nuova", it is a new palace built on the same place of the "Palazzo Reale vecchio" (San Giovanni Palace), becouse it was demolished in the late XIX century.
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It was Carlo Emanuele I who commissioned Ascanio Vittozzi to design a new ducal palace (called “Palazzo nuovo grande” in documents of the time), and construction got under way in 1584. According to the young Duke’s order, the edifice represented the key, central nucleus of a much vaster plan for improving, rationalising and transforming the old urban arrangement that had been handed down from Roman times to the Middle ages without any really significant changes.
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Below: the Palazzo Reale vecchio (Old Royal Palace) also called Palazzo di San Giovanni (Saint John Palace).
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/9c2c725f.jpg)
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Thus, while the ancient Roman “decumanus” remained to mark the approach to Palazzo Madama, Vittozzi opened up a wide, regal thoroughfare called “contrada nuova” (new quarter) today via Roma, on the axis with the façade of “Palazzo nuovo grande”, which other architects and town planners (particularly Carlo di Castellamonte, some fifty years later) would develop and organise into sumptuously elegant piazza San Carlo.
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There is no question that it was an urban plan to create particularly regal areas around the Savoy edifice and to start an important structural remodeling of the city. And this is evident by the fact that Ascanio Vittozzi did not confine himself to merely widening a preexisting road to open the “contrada nuova”, but had three ancient blocks demolished as well, while respecting, nevertheless, the right-angled Roman road network. As a result, and thanks to the rasing of clusters of old houses and the consequent opening up of the stretch of square in front of Palazzo Madama, the Ducal Palace (called Royal after 1713, when Vittorio Amedeo II obtains the title of king) was assured of having ample space around it and a particularly stately and majestic setting.
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It is important to note that none of the successors to Emanuele Filiberto and Carlo Emanuele seem to have regretted the location of the Palace, even though all of the later Savoy dukes and kings set about restoring, enlarging or redecorating it when they became successors (until 1865, when the capital was transferred to Florence with Vittorio Emanuele II). Under seemingly constant construction, architects, stucco workers, interior decorators and carpenters were all involved in the work, and despite the diverse artistic sensibilities of the commissioning royalty (and the changing styles during more than two centuries), the results were, nevertheless, substantially uniform.
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A significant factor is that Palazzo Reale has always maintained its original function as “district office” for the complex network of “headquarter buildings” concentrated around the Savoy Residence.
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The red line shows the extension of the this unique complex network of “headquarter buildings”:
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/fdd76f2e.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/06e4649d.jpg)
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By the first half of the eighteenth century, with the progressive expansion of the urban area, essentially all of the bureaucratic and governmental buildings would have their headquarters located alongside the Palace: the Secretariats of State (n° eight), today the Prefecture building, the State Archive (10), especially designed and built for that purpose by Filippo Juvarra, the Royal Military Academy (11) and the Royal Riding School (12).
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/3b06e410.jpg)
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Other buildings were closely associated, in terms of location and ideology, with the Royal Palace (1). These include: Palazzo Reale vecchio (Old Royal Palace) (2), Palazzo Madama (7), Palazzo Chiablese (4), the Church of San Lorenzo (extraordinary work by Guarino Guarini dedicated to the Martyr saint who assured Duke Emanuele Filiberto the restitution of the Piedmont territory as he was leading the army of Carlo V to victory at San Quintino in Flanders on 10 August, 1557), as well as Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) (9), the prestigious collections of the Armeria Reale (Royal Armoury) and Biblioteca Reale (Royal Library) (6).
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/3b06e410.jpg)
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This waterpaint comes from the Theatrum Sabaudiae (the "theatre" of magnificence). Following Blaeau's 1661 Theatre of Italian Cities project (a very important publisher in Amsterdam) the Duke of Savoy Carlo Emanuele II gave the go ahead in the mid-seventeenth century to a publisher for a project that would have deep-reaching future implications, transforming in itinere into an independent and singular piece of work: the Theatrum Statuum Regiae Celsitudinis Sabaudiae Ducis Pedemontii Principis Cypri Regis, a political manifesto by the duke of Savoy for the European courts. In this two-volume work, the serial print is witness and pays homage to the grandeur of the sovereign. In the first volume, views of the capital city and its squares, its most famous civil and religious buildings, the crown-shaped settlement of magnificent country residences and castles, the defence structures of the state come after the maps, portraits, and dedications. There are pictures of monasteries and abbeys and a series of views of the main cities in the dukedom. The second volume describes the Savoy lands, from Vercelli to Monferrato, the historical and archaeological monuments of the dukedom and all that can be valued and admired. The work took twenty years to complete and gave a much-considered and carefully constructed image of the states belonging to the duke of Savoy.
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Below: an aerial photo of the headquarter buildings today. The Teatro Regio exists no more, it was destroyed by a terrible fire in 1936.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/b38131e4.jpg)
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Legend:
A: Royal Palace
B: Secretariats of State
C: State Archive
D: Royal Military Academy
E: Riding School
F: Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre)
G: Palazzo Madama
H: San Lorenzo Church
I: Palazzo Chiablese
J: San Giovanni Cathedral
K: Manica Nuova (New Palace)
L: Royal Armoury
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Vittozzi’s “Palazzo nuovo grande” was seriously damaged by the siege on Turin in 1640, and so in 1643 it was under construction again to become what is now Palazzo Reale. The work was commissioned by Cristina di Francia, regent in the name of her underage son Carlo Emanuele II. The first “Madama Reale”, Cristina was an extraordinarily well-bred, international figure, as well as being a patron of refined architectural and urbanistic projects. She was also a most astute politician, as evidenced by her holding her own against the two brothers-in-law who had declared open war on her and, there by, preventing the small Savoy State from being crushed between France and Spain and swallowed up by one of them.
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Many people, including the engineers Maurizio Valperga, Carlo Morello were involved in the impressive building effort, which almost from the start seemed more like the collective work of a team than of a single designer. Nevertheless, the architect Amedeo di Castellamonte, having become a sort of “coordinator” of the various projects, is generally given credit for the entire planning and accomplishment of the work.
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We don't have orignal projects of this phase of construction. Probably Amedeo Cognengo Count of Castellamonte designed the great façade of the Palace. Somber, bulky and considerably spread out, the façade loses some of its oppressiveness in the elegance and lightness of the simple decorations that are limited to the cornices of the large windows. The Palace façade has also a military simplicity.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/2aa48e46.jpg)
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Above: the façade of the Royal Palace, it has an aura of magnificence to the Palace. The military simplicity of soften the menacing size of its certainly majestic, long, main building flanked by two mighty, pavilion-towers.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/33222d0e.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/bd16be4b.jpg)
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Above: the south-east pavillion-tower. The wing joined to the pavillion-tower houses the Royal Armoury on the 1° floor, and the Royal Library on the ground floor.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/f4b3654b.jpg)
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The arrangement of Piazzetta Reale (Royal Courtyard) in front of the palace was commissioned by Duke Carlo Emanuele II and completed during the first half of the nineteenth century (the recent restoration of the façade’s original colours, abandoning the tiresomely uniform “Turin yellow”, has restored the original colour of XVII century). The long, porticoed pavilion called “Pavaglione” (evident in numerous seventeenth and eighteenth-century engravings) was habitually used as a guardroom and for displaying the Shroud on occasion.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/ffb844cf.jpg)
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A good painting by Peter Borgomans shows the porticoed pavilion called “Pavaglione" in the XVII century, during the "Ostensione della Sindone" (the displaying of the Holy Shroud).
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/1cf4b7ad.jpg)
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This waterpaint shows the Piazzetta Reale in 1820. The long, porticoed pavilion called “Pavaglione” does not still exist becouse it was destroyed by a fire in 1811.
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Carlo Alberto wanted a powerful rail fence, a gesture of union with the city more than of separation, to substitute the Pavillion. Pelagio Palagi (a most versatile Bolognese artist who had long been active at Palazzo Reale and other Savoy Residences), designed the fence in neo-Classical style to suit the tastes of Carlo Alberto, and it is filled with symbols, mottoes, female faces and the House of Savoy coats-of-arms.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/af3f85f8.jpg)
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Facing piazza Castello there is a wide passageway through the fence that is flanked by bronze equestrian statues on high, marble pedestals and the elegantly classical Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, which was created by Abbondio Sangiorgio around 1841 and set in place five years later. The wealth of ornamentation in the fence and the exquisite movement of the two sculptures provide a fantastically sumptuous counterpoint to the essentially linear look of both the Palazzo Reale façade and the other two buildings on either side of the piazzetta (Palazzo Chiablese, on the left, and the long building housing the Library and the Royal Armoury, on the right).
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/209b91d0.jpg)
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Castor
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/ec60ed6d.jpg)
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Pollux
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/1fac3143.jpg)
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Behind the great façade stands the inner courtyard. It was projected by Carlo Morello, he designed a carrè courtyard with "porticos" all along its four sides. The courtyard was completed about in 1661.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/6354725b.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/f737a761.jpg)
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Above: the Royal Palace courtyard, the south façade. It is simple but very elegant.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/9018eb5b.jpg)
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Above: another view of the courtyard. The east façade with the Sindone chapel's cupola (Chapel of the Holy Shroud ), it was designed by Guarino Guarini.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ESTERNI/1ffd594d.jpg)
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Below: the north side of the courtyard was enriched by a great terrace. It was placed between the north-west pavillion and the north-east one.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/b865fe62.jpg)
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The last season of great works started with Carlo Emanuele III, who decided to modify the terrace and to build on it a new wing of two floors in two phases. The new first floor wing will be used as private Archive of the Sovereign. The second floor will be used as guestrooms.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/ACQUERELLI/f41ddd79.jpg)
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Above: Bernardo Bellotto, view of the Turin Royal Palace. The first phase of works (started in 1733) is testified by this painting of Bellotto. The first floor of the new wing is complete. The terrace exists no longer.
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The long constructional phase of the Royal Palace is essentially finished in the first half of the XVIII century (except for the construction of the Manica Nuova). Instead the interior decorations were not came to an end, and for all the XIX century artists, painters and carvers will work together to create a unique ensemble of rooms.
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1
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Vittorio Emanuele III was very fond of cars and he liked driving in the Royal Park with his family aboard.
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Interiors of the Royal Palace: Ground FLOOR
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/PIANTE/13d03fce.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/4e250c48.jpg)
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The ground floor of the Royal Palace houses the ......
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/0_PIANO/255ab688.jpg)
From: http://www.arpnet.it/preale/
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Above: the great "atrio" (lobby) with the imposing pillars. The access of the Palace is through the wooden main door in the Piazzetta Reale.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/0_PIANO/848c6bbb.jpg)
From: http://www.arpnet.it/preale/
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Above: the branch of the portico leading to the main staircase entrance.
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Appartamento di Re Vittorio Emanuele III
(King Vittorio Emanuele III's apartment)
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1 - Bagno (Bathroom)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/0_PIANO/9169606b.jpg)
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Above: King Vittorio Emanuele III's bathroom, it a very simle room, almost bare, so typical of the tastes of this frugal King.
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Umberto II, Maria Josè and their children liked to spend their holidays at Racconigi. We can recognize the little Vittorio Emanuele IV.
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Anothet moment during the holiday, there are Prince Umberto II, Maria Josè and other guests such as Maresciallo Pietro Badoglio.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/ALBUM/3622373a.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/PARCO/61760523.jpg)
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A plan of the Park as it was in 1830. Now it has changed becouse the left part of it was used to build the tennis fields
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Racconigi Castle has an official site:
http://www.ilcastellodiracconigi.it/ita/index.htm
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/0_PIANO/8c4ee9a2.jpg)
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The pages about the Royal Palace are under construction
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The sala legio is called also: Sala di lettura, detta anche sala del palchetto (Parquet room), it is on the second floor.
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/ra-i1-2-g-a-20.jpg)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/RACCONIGI/INTERNI/2-3_piano/ra-i1-2-g-c-20.jpg)
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This is the golden "leggio".
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The second floor of the Royal Palace has been restored and completely refurnished and now it appears as it was in the times of Umberto II.
http://www.lastampa.it/_web/cmstp/tmplrubriche/torinosette/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=132&ID_articolo=19&ID_sezione=294&sezione=TORINOSETTE (http://www.lastampa.it/_web/cmstp/tmplrubriche/torinosette/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=132&ID_articolo=19&ID_sezione=294&sezione=TORINOSETTE)
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http://www.arpnet.it/preale/
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Hi Amedeo,
I visited the palace last December and was greatly impressed. It is wonderful and interesting. As a Swede I was amazed there was a portrait hanging somewhere of king Oscar I of Sweden. The reason was explained but I cannot recall it now.
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http://www.lavenaria.it/index_eng.shtml
http://www.lavenaria.it/eventi_spettacoli/eng/apre_lavenaria.shtml
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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/12/europe/EU-GEN-Italy-Royal-Palace.php
http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2007/10/16/royal-palace-of-vena/
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http://www.piemonte.beniculturali.it/index.php?/ln/en/id_p/126/id_s/339.html
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Amedeo you have put together a wonderful informative site! Are there any more interior shots of Bedrooms? I love the Architectural drawings.
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I'm sorry, I don't have other pics of bedrooms.
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what a wealth of information . Is it possible to know which kings and Queens were born , married and died in this and other palaces in Turin? many thanks
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Maria Teresa wife of Carlo Alberto and Maria Adelaide wife of VE II died at the Royal Palace. Umberto I was born there.
Queen Margherita was born at Chiablese Palace.
Carlo Alberto died in Oporto, VE II at the Quirinale (Rome), Umberto I at the Villa Reale of Monza.
Queen Margherita in her Villa in Bordighera.
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Any one have any pictures or information about the Villa Savoia in Rome ? what has happened to the building since the fall of the monarchy. I believe it was purchased by VE III in 1878 from Pr Pallavicini and originally built by Count Teffner who named it after his wife Ada. I presume all VE III children were born there?
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Hello Norbert,
Villa Savoia is now called "Villa Ada" and has the second largest public park of Rome. You can easily find it on Google Maps, it is a large park near the Parioli, just at the border of the aurelian's walls.
The property was espropriated after the 1946, like many other properties ( I believe this was absolutely unfair, it was their private house). The Villa was left to herself and the park became a public parkin 1957 although the Villa was in very bad conditions and the government didn't care about it.
Now it is the Egyptian Embassy, I suppose the interiors were completely destroyed and stolen (perhaps by the government itself?) as this is quite common here.
After princess Mafalda's marriage with the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel the king donated to her Villa Polissena, which is still property of the Hesse-Kassel Family.
If you browse this forum you'll find a pic of Villa Savoia and queen Helena in her bedroom.
G.C.d.R
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Yes, the Quirinale was the Official Royal Palace. It belonged to the Popes before 1870's. Princess Maria Gabriella still remember when they used to play in the palace gallerie's and gardens.
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The property was espropriated after the 1946, like many other properties ( I believe this was absolutely unfair, it was their private house). The Villa was left to herself and the park became a public parkin 1957 although the Villa was in very bad conditions and the government didn't care about it.
Now it is the Egyptian Embassy, I suppose the interiors were completely destroyed and stolen (perhaps by the government itself?) as this is quite common here.
After princess Mafalda's marriage with the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel the king donated to her Villa Polissena, which is still property of the Hesse-Kassel Family.
It's not completely true. Italian republic espropriated just a portion of the the park. The Villa itself remained to the Family who offered it to the egyptian Embassy.
As regards the interiors, the Savoia took away their personal belongings, but many things are still there and the Villa is very well kept.
Instead you are completely right when you say that the portion of the park which belongs to the city of Rome is dirty and in bad conditions (at least, to my opinion).
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Any one have any pictures or information about the Villa Savoia in Rome ? what has happened to the building since the fall of the monarchy. I believe it was purchased by VE III in 1878 from Pr Pallavicini and originally built by Count Teffner who named it after his wife Ada. I presume all VE III children were born there?
As far as I know only Princess Maria was born there.
It was purchased by VE II, NOT III. The Villa was built by VE II, then was sold to Telfner. In 1904 VE III bought it again, BUT they went to live there only in 1914.
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Thankyou for this. Does this mean that all but Maria were born at The Quirinale?
Also, going off the subject a bit but does anyone know where the Empress Maria Anna of Austria was born in Rome, 1803 ?
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Prince Umberto was born at Racconigi Castle.
Maria Anna probably was born at Palazzo Colonna, where her parents were guests.
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http://www.ilcastellodiracconigi.it/ita/info/stampa144.htm (http://www.ilcastellodiracconigi.it/ita/info/stampa144.htm)
The Rooms of the little Princes and the rooms of their maids:
New exhibition at the Castle, I must say it is very suggestive!
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wonderful pictures and history, thank you very much. I think that it was sad for Italy to loose king Umberto II
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An interesting article from New York Times 1900 about the new Queen of Italy
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9504E0DD1039E733A25751C1A96E9C946197D6CF
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Villa Polissena is a divine residence as is the Palazzo Taverna. home of Fürst Windisch-Graetz.
Arturo
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Amedeo,just heard on the news that this castle is on fire,at least I thought I heard it is this one.
Any more news where you are?
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many thanks for this gleb. I really enjoyed my trip to Turin which has a very good atmosphere.
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http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/427 (http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/427)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/gleb/castellomonc.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/gleb/castellomonc.jpg)
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http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_della_Regina (http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_della_Regina)
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Maggi%2C_Giovanni_Battista_%28183..-18...%29_-_n._28_-_Torino_-_Viilla_della_Regina.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Maggi%2C_Giovanni_Battista_%28183..-18...%29_-_n._28_-_Torino_-_Viilla_della_Regina.jpg)
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Quote from: Norbert on April 08, 2008, 07:58:51 AM
Hi Amadeo, when i visited Turin 3 years ago I found the Villa della Regina... it was hidden behind boarding and the grounds were overgrown. i wondered if this charming palace had been restored?
Yes it has been recently restored, here is the official website http://www.artito.arti.beniculturali.it/Villa/index.php?it/103/piano-nobile
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http://www.lavenaria.it/index.shtml
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http://www.ilcastellodiracconigi.it/ita/info/stampa164.htm
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http://www.arpnet.it/preale/
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http://mmedia.kataweb.it/foto/3362419/palazzo-reale-riaprono-le-cucine-di-casa-savoia
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Nice Kitchen.
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Thank you very much!
Very interesting
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Would love to revist the place again soon.
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I am starting a new topic about this hunting lodge of the last Kings and Queens of Italy, where they spent every summer until the fall of the monarchy, and where so many guests (like the Romanovs) were invited.
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Grazie per le stupende foto del castello di Racconigi! :)
English: Thank you for the wonderful photos of the castle of Racconigi!
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http://www.ilcastellodiracconigi.it/ita/attivita/iniziative/2008/regine_promenade.htm
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I would like to know more about this palace. Maximilian and Charlotte lived there when he was viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Archduchess Margaretha (first wife of Karl Ludwig) died in this palace in 1858 while visiting them. Her niece and namesake would be later Queen Margherita of Italy, wife of Humberto I who also died in Monza. Pictures from the interiors of this palace would be appreciatted.
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Her niece and namesake would be later Queen Margherita of Italy, wife of Humberto I who also died in Monza. Pictures from the interiors of this palace would be appreciatted.
She died at Stupinigi, a large villa near Turin.
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I meant Umberto I died in Monza. I thought Queen Margueriha had died in Bordighera.
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I meant Umberto I died in Monza. I thought Queen Margueriha had died in Bordighera.
She died in Bordighera, I was thinking to Queen Maria Pia of Portugal when I wrote that, anyway Queen Margherita spent part of her time at Stupinigi when she became Queen Dowger
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Palace of Monza: (sorry about the quality)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Palaces/Monza1.jpg)
-Duke of NJ
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Palace of Monza: (sorry about the quality)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Palaces/Monza2.jpg)
-Duke of NJ
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The Alcove Room:
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Palaces/Turin1.jpg)
-Duke of NJ
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Sorry about the small size of the above picture.
-Duke of NJ
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I'd love to visit the castle of Racconigi, I have been in Piemonte, but I have not yet visited the summer residence of the Savoy.
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Queen's Apartments:
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Palaces/QueensApartmentsRoyalPalaceofTurin.jpg)
-Duke of NJ
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Staircase:
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Palaces/SiccsorStairsRoyalPalaceofTurin.jpg)
-Duke of NJ
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Very grand !
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/gleb/Italy/vld-he-b-d-10.jpg)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/gleb/Italy/vld-he-a-e-10.jpg)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/gleb/Italy/vld-he-b-e-10.jpg)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/gleb/Italy/vld-he-a-c-10.jpg)
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The Palazzine of Sant'Anna di Valdieri, where the Italian Royal Family spent july and august from 1905 to 1942
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Royal Palace of Turin and Palazzo Madama:
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Photocroms/th_06637v.jpg) (http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/DukeofNewJersey/Photocroms/?action=view¤t=06637v.jpg)
After the thumbnail opens click on the picture again to make it bigger.
-Duke of NJ
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The photos you posted are very beautiful. Have you already visited the Palace?
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The photos you posted are very beautiful. Have you already visited the Palace?
Hello Gleb, I have not visited the palace unfortunately, the interior pictures I posted are from a book and the exterior picture is actually a photochrom print from the (US) Library of Congress.
-Duke of NJ
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http://www.lavenaria.it/mostre/eng/mostre/2009/cavalieri.shtml
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http://www.ilcastellodiracconigi.it/ita/attivita/iniziative/2009/giorni_zar_06-21dic.htm
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Hey people! I am looking for info on the Palazzo Chiablese in Turin which was the home of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedetto,_Duke_of_Chablais (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedetto,_Duke_of_Chablais)! Any info would be greatly appreciated and I would die for a floor plan ;) lol
Adieu
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Hello Duchesse de Chartres , You can find some info about the Palace here http://www.visitatorino.com/palazzo_chiablese.htm and here http://www.piemonte.beniculturali.it/index.php?/ln/it/id_p/154.html http://www.google.it/images?hl=it&q=Palazzo+chiablese+Torino&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=hvd8TN-vHoTGlQe3kqnrCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CDQQsAQwBA&biw=1600&bih=716
:) :)
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You Have My Gratitude =]
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I have some floor plans but I need time to find them back. Be patient
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Will Do ;)
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Thanks for these wonderful photos.
The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Palazzina_di_caccia_di_Stupinigi1.JPG/800px-Palazzina_di_caccia_di_Stupinigi1.JPG)
Detail of Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Stupinigi.jpg/800px-Stupinigi.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Stupinigicervo.jpg/800px-Stupinigicervo.jpg)
Detail of the central salone:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Stupinigi_centrale_hal_boven.jpg/800px-Stupinigi_centrale_hal_boven.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Stupinigi_centrale_hal_boven_%28detail%29.jpg)
Sala del Bonzanigo with portrait of Giuseppe Placido of Savoy:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/8/81/Stupinigi_interno.jpg)
Map:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Stupinigi_plan_1.jpg/600px-Stupinigi_plan_1.jpg)
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The Palace of Venaria:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/La_Reggia_della_Venaria_Reale.jpg/800px-La_Reggia_della_Venaria_Reale.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Venaria_Reale_panoramic.JPG/800px-Venaria_Reale_panoramic.JPG)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Corpo_centrale_dal_Parco_Basso.jpg/800px-Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Corpo_centrale_dal_Parco_Basso.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Corpo_centrale_e_vasca_del_Parco_Basso.jpg/800px-Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Corpo_centrale_e_vasca_del_Parco_Basso.jpg)
The Belvedere and the Garove Pavilion:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Belvedere_e_Padiglione_Garove.jpg/800px-Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Belvedere_e_Padiglione_Garove.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Belvedere.jpg/384px-Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Belvedere.jpg)
Details of the Palace of Venaria:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Venaria_Reggia_Fronte.jpg/750px-Venaria_Reggia_Fronte.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Particolare_dei_tetti.jpg/428px-Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Particolare_dei_tetti.jpg)
Galleria Grande (erroneously known as "Diana's Gallery"):
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Reggia_Venaria_Reale-IMG_1882.JPG/800px-Reggia_Venaria_Reale-IMG_1882.JPG)
Church of Sant'Uberto, with the royal palace on the left:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Venaria_Reale-Chiesa_di_Sant%27Uberto-IMG_1847.JPG/800px-Venaria_Reale-Chiesa_di_Sant%27Uberto-IMG_1847.JPG)
Detail of Venaria, flowers and park:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/thumb/2/2c/Fiorivenariareale.JPG/800px-Fiorivenariareale.JPG)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Il_Parco_Basso.jpg/800px-Reggia_di_Venaria_Reale_-_Il_Parco_Basso.jpg)
Detail:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Reggia_Venaria_Reale-IMG_1877.JPG/450px-Reggia_Venaria_Reale-IMG_1877.JPG)
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Here it is the new website about Turin Royal Palace:
http://www.ilpalazzorealeditorino.it/
For now only in italian, I hope real soon will be available the english version
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/2_PIANO/secondo_piano_palazzo_reale_torino_grande.jpg) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/filippo_2/media/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/2_PIANO/secondo_piano_palazzo_reale_torino_grande.jpg.html)
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(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/filippo_2/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/2_PIANO/meg_4671a.jpg) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/filippo_2/media/PALAZZO%20%20REALE/INTERNI/2_PIANO/meg_4671a.jpg.html)
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Two pics of the royal appartments: the red room, used as reception room, and King Vittorio Emanuele II bedchamber. Both the rooms are in the second floor of the Royal Palace.
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http://www.amicipalazzoreale.it/nuova-apertura-apr-il-ii-piano-nobile-a-partire-da-venerdi-27-settembre-2013
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For an Italian, visiting the Royal Palace of the last Italian royalties is heartbreaking: it is not possible to escape the comparison between the style, magnificence and merits of the Savoy dynasty and the state of its latest scions. The visit is not very expensive. The rooms (which were used for the last time by the late King Umberto right before his coronation and exile) are very well kept. Unfortunately in Summer time, so we were told, the private apartments cannot be seen because they are open only in the Fall.
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I think they should copy the Versailles Fund gather donations globally. Those who donate large amounts get special kudos.
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New amazing photos about the royal residences of the Savoy Family
click the link below:
http://www.juzaphoto.com/me.php?p=9540&pg=galleries&l=it
and choose the gallery you like
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Nicholas II’s Curiosity Touring through Different Homes (3)
Castles in Italy, Racconigi and Pollenzo
https://winterpalaceresearch.blogspot.ca/2016/09/nicholas-iis-curiosity-touring-through.html
Joanna
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It's really very interesting! Thanks for posting. I read some letters the Tsar wrote to his mother during his stay in Racconigi but never I had never seen extracts of his diary.
Joanna, do you know where I could find the whole part of the Tsar's diary dedicated to his visit in Italy in 1909?
I have some photos of Racconigi etc., I will send them along to you in the next days.
Did you also know that Nicholas II bought at least two paintings depicting Racconigi and Pollenzo from the italian painter Giuseppe Augusto Levis? The King of Italy appreciated very much his works as well. That's probably how the Tsar got to know him.
Nowadays these paintings are probably lost, I only have b&w photos of them.
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Hi everyone!
I would like to ask a favour. I am trying to translate in English some pages of a short essay which I have written. It is about Racconigi Castle (a royal residence of the House of Savoy). Actually I have translated it completely.
I would need a kind native English speaker, who might read it and tell me if the text is understandable or if there are too many mistakes.
Thanks in advance
p.s.
As you can see from the way I write, your help is very much needed!
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Hi everyone!
I would like to ask a favour. I am trying to translate in English some pages of a short essay which I have written. It is about Racconigi Castle (a royal residence of the House of Savoy). Actually I have translated it completely.
I would need a kind native English speaker, who might read it and tell me if the text is understandable or if there are too many mistakes.
Thanks in advance
p.s.
As you can see from the way I write, your help is very much needed!
gleb, I am more than wiling to help as long as you're patient as I have to do it between other projects.