Piemonte Italia

Reggia di Venaria

The building of this hunting palace, which started in 1659 at the wish of Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia and followed the project of the Duchy’s architect Amedeo di Castellamonte, completed the so-called ‘The Crown of Delights’ project: a network of royal residences linked to the capital. The complex, composed of the village, completely restored, of the Palace of Diana (goddess of hunting), of the outbuildings and of the large park and gardens, was developed in a symmetrical manner along the axis which, starting from the high street in the village, crossed the central room and continued into the park. Between 1699 and 1713, the system of palace and gardens was redesigned by Michelangelo Garove: during this phase, the Italian-style 17th-century garden was eliminated and the restoration of the building began following the more modern French trends. However, the project was never completed and, on the main façade, the simultaneous co-presence of these two phases can be discerned. In the following decades, Filippo Juvarra and Benedetto Alfieri, in their role as royal architects, completed the complex with the building of the Citroniera (a greenhouse built to store citrus fruits in winter), the main stables, the chiesa di Sant’Uberto (church of Saint Hubertus) and the carriage garage. During this phase, and through to the 1780s, Giuseppe Battista Piacenza completed new interior decorations and restored several features within the entrance hall. From 1818 onwards, the Reggia di Venaria was partially used as a veterinary school, a military school of equestrianism and finally, until 1881, as the seat of the Fifth Artillery Regiment. Meanwhile, starting from the first decades of the 18th century, the La Mandria complex began to be developed. This was devoted to horse-breeding, and was yet another part of the grand landscaping plan of which the palace is part. Today, Venaria is one of the most important venues undergoing restoration in the whole of Europe. The restoration project of the complex, partially destined to host museums, is funded by the European Community, the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (Ministry for Culture) and the Regione Piemonte.