Musei Reali: Palazzo Reale
Palazzo Reale
The Royal Palace of Turin was originally built in the 16th century as a Bishop’s Palace with the name of Palazzo di San Giovanni, during the reign of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. From 1563, it served as the seat of his court once he established Turin as his capital.
In 1584, Carlo Emanuele I entrusted Ascanio Vitozzi with the project to reconstruct the palace. Upon his death, the project was handed over to Amedeo di Castellamonte (both he and Vitozzi also worked on the Villa della Regina) and Carlo Morello (architect of the Parrocchia della Santissima Annunziata).
The property eventually made it into the hands of his grandson, Victor Amadeus I, who married Christine Marie of France at the Louvre in 1619. It was while she was regent for her son that the palace was significantly modernized, using designs by Filippo Juvarra (architect of the Chiesa di San Filippo Neri, the façade of the Parrocchia della Santissima Annunziata, and the entrance hall at the Villa della Regina).
A chapel built to house the Shroud of Turin (believed to be the linen cloth that wrapped Christ’s body at his burial) was added in 1668-1694. In 1946, the palace was claimed by the Italian Republic and turned into a Museum of the Life and Works of the House of Savoy.
Armeria Reale
The Royal Armoury was established by Charles Albert in 1837, and it is housed in the Queen’s Gallery. The frescoes which decorate it were completed by Claudio Francesco Beaumont in 1738-1742.
Its collection was gathered by Vittorio Seyssel D’Aix, artillery captain and first director of the Armoury, and it pulled works from the arsenals of Turin and Genoa, collections of antiquities, and purchases from prestigious collections from Milan and Brescia.
The armoury, alongside the rest of the Palazzo Reale, became a state museum in 1946. Its current collection holds more than 5,000 objects, spanning from Prehistory to the early 20th century.
Gold Colored Fox 