Piemonte Italia

Culture

ITINERARIES
Architecture
MUSEUMS
EXHIBITIONS
LIBRARIES

La Sacra di San Michele
Sacra di San Michele

Piemonte is rich in cultural, historical and artistic itineraries, crossing several centuries and covering each aspect of the region: from architecture to industrial archaeology, from cities to the countryside, inspired by events, people, legends, curiosities, spirituality or artisan and manual ability. This is an easy way to discover, though the several possible threads, human and natural landscapes and understand their true identity.

Villa Scott - Torino

As locations of leisure, hunting and holidaying, as well as of ceremonies and sumptuous feasts, the Residenze Reali (‘Royal Residences’) – a path ranging from the Turin area to Canavese, the Cuneo province and the Langhe – represent a collection of high historical, artistic and architectural significance, so much so that, in 1997, they were included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Castles and fortresses, clinging to mountainsides, perched on hilltops in defence of hamlets and villages, or placed within centuries-old parks, all narrate a frontier land, steeped in history. Peering over lakes, perched on mountainsides or hidden within little villages, the numerous religious buildings represent an unrivalled container of art, architecture and history, symbolising deep spirituality and ancient popular devotion. Churches range from the Sacri Monti (‘Sacred Mountains’), works of sacred art and architecture placed within fairytale landscapes and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, through the Romanesque and Baroque abbeys and churches, to the inner-city sanctuaries, all overflowing with works of art.

ALL ARCHITECTURE

MAIN ARCHITECTURE

Museo Egizio -Torino

There are hundreds of museums in Piemonte: devoted to old or contemporary art, to history, science, ethnography, or simply containers of peculiar and unique objects. The museums include the masterpieces as the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) and Museo del Cinema (Museum of Cinema) in Torino, the collections of contemporary art at the Fondazione Merz or at Castello di Rivoli, the small collections linked to farming history and culture as well as the eco-museums, which aim to ‘restore, testify and promote the historical memory, life, material culture, the relationship between natural and anthropised environment, traditions, customs and the way in which traditional settlements have changed the development of the landscape’.

ALL MUSEUMS

MAIN MUSEUMS

OLD ART

MODERN / CONTEMPORARY ART

SACRED ART

ECO-MUSEUMS

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

HISTORY AND ARCHAELOGY

THEMED MUSEUMS

TRADITION

Fondazione Sandretto -Torino

A good way to taste art in Piemonte is by visiting the several exhibition venues scattered throughout the region. Besides museums and their permanent collections, the presence of a series of venues dedicated to the search for and promotion of culture-related initiatives further celebrates the excellence of art.
This is a heritage of competence and passion, which, through foundations and other promotional institutions, often housed within innovative, contemporary buildings or else in inspiring Medieval buildings or still aristocratic palaces, villas and mansions, celebrates art and its protagonists through exhibitions, conferences and events.

ALL EXHIBITION VENUES

Libraries are the key to knowledge par excellence, but they also act as venues for cultural initiatives and events. Piemonte’s libraries are the custodians of an endless heritage, whose inhabitants range from the latest publications to out-of-print or foreign-language books, offering citizens and visitors different services, ranging from public readings through rare books’ conservation to supporting scientific research.