account Royal Museums of Turin
A museum itinerary of over 3 kilometers with 400,000 masterpieces and 25,000 square meters of permanent exhibition: antiquities, **art** collections, exhibitions and cultural events wind through the halls of the wonderful ducal residence and of the House of Savoy. The complex includes the Royal Palace, the Royal Gardens, the Royal Library, the Sabauda Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, the Royal Armory, the Chiablese Halls and the Chapel of the Shroud. An itinerary of history, architecture and nature that every year attracts almost 600,000 visitors from all over the world. An itinerary that allows to know the events of the city from the first Roman settlements up to the masters of the Renaissance in Piedmont, passing from the Eighteenth century to the House of Savoy dynasty up to the unification of Italy. The visit to the Royal Museums of Turin is a must for those arriving in the city.
Royal Palace: the historical residence of House Savoy
Project by Ascanio Vittozzi and Carlo di Castellamonte at the end of the sixteenth century: it is a UNESCO heritage site since '97 and is inspired by the Baroque palace of Versailles. Residence of the House of Savoy until 1865, today it hosts exhibitions and cultural events. The sumptuous central facade and the two higher side wings, dominate Piazza Castello. One of the elegant and majestic French icons of the Piedmontese capital.
Royal Gardens: green heart of the Museums
All enclosed by the bastions of the Palace, the Royal Gardens develop over an area of 7 hectares of extraordinary monumental and environmental value. Designed in the early sixteenth century at the time of Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, today they include the Duke's Garden, the Boschetto, the Garden of Arts, the lower Gardens, the walls and the garittone, that is the building built at the end of the seventeenth century for defensive and military purposes located in correspondence with the Bastion of San Maurizio.
Royal Library: the treasure chest of Leonardo's drawings
In 1831 Carlo Alberto of Savoy-Carignano began to expand the court library by inserting volumes purchased from antique dealers all over Europe. It is the beginning of the Royal Library of Turin, one of the most important cultural institutions of the city which today preserves over 200,000 volumes, ancient maps, engravings, works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt and famous drawings including Leonardo da Vinci's "Self-Portrait", of which 13 autograph sheets and the Codex on the Flight of Birds are also preserved.
The Sabauda Gallery and the masterpieces of European painting
Over 500 works by Piedmontese, Italian, Dutch, Flemish and European artists from the 14th to the 20th century. The works of the Italian masters from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century are those of Fra Angelico, Pollaiolo, Filippino Lippi, Mantegna and Paolo Veronese. Among the paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth century stand out works by Lombard and Caravaggesque artists such as Gentileschi, Guido Reni, Guercino, Ricci, Solimena, Crespi and views of Turin by Bernardo Bellotto. But the Sabauda Gallery also boasts the masterpieces of the Flemish school: van Eyck, van der Weyden, Memling, Rembrandt van Rijn, Rubens and van Dyck.
Archaeological Museum: platform towards the past
The Archaeological Museum complex is divided into four sections of considerable historical interest: the Archaeological Gallery, dedicated to the Museum's historical collections, the D’Andrade Halls, themed on the Archaeology of Turin and the Marengo Treasure, the archaeological area of the Roman Theater and the Territory Pavilion, dedicated to the archaeology of Piedmont as well as "Exhibitions on the catwalk". The rest of the world archaeological heritage of the Nilotic civilization, instead, is found at the Egyptian Museum, unique in Italy.
Royal Armory: over 5,000 objects from Prehistory to the Twentieth century
An extraordinary collection of armors and weapons from the Neolithic period to the Savoy period passing through the Middle Ages, with over 33,000 ancient coins. Among the most important pieces are the sword used by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Egyptian campaign and on the occasion of the Battle of Marengo, the armors belonging to Emanuele Filiberto, the Japanese armor offered in 1870 to Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy and over 250 flags mainly linked to the history of the House of Savoy and the Sardinian army during the wars of the Italian Risorgimento. The Royal Armory is one of the richest in the world, together with the Royal Armories of Madrid and Vienna.
The exhibitions of international artists at Sala Chiablese
Palazzo Chiablese is one of the noble residences of the historic center of Turin linked to the House of Savoy. The halls on the ground floor of Palazzo Chiablese, historically destined for service areas and without decorations, host the temporary exhibitions of the Royal Museums, often dedicated to great international artists: a journey into history and art, from the Roman era to the twentieth century.
The Chapel of the Shroud
Admirable Baroque structure by Guarino Guarini, accessible to the public on the visiting route of the Royal Museums, commissioned by Duke Carlo Emanuele of Savoy to Carlo di Castellamonte (1611) to preserve the precious relic. From 1694 until the early nineties of the twentieth century the Chapel of the Holy Shroud has guarded the linen sheet, now preserved in the transept of Turin Cathedral. The chapel survived a dramatic fire in 1997 which made necessary the subsequent restoration.
Places of interest around the Royal Museums of Turin
The Royal Museums of Turin are exactly in the heart of the city, between the Mole Antonelliana, true icon of the capital with its 187 meters of height, and the Quadrilatero district, where Piazza Statuto, one of the last of the Risorgimento history of the Savoyard capital of Italy, is located. Porta Palatina, an important monument of Turin, is further north of the museums, reachable on foot in just over ten minutes. The same goes for Piazza San Carlo, with the equestrian statue of Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, reachable a little further south in a very short time.
The Piedmontese capital is a continuous discovery. Come and visit it at any time of the year and choose our B&B Hotel Torino President for a perfect stay in the city center: total comfort and best value for money. We await you.