Piemonte Italia

Villa della Regina

In a dominating position on Torino’s hill, on the ideal axis which from via Po continues over the bridge on the river, the ‘Queen’s villa’ was built, from 1615 onwards, on Cardinal Maurizio di Savoia’s order and on a design by Ascanio Vitozzi, following the model of old Roman villas. Characteristic features of the 17th-century palace include the garden (in the shape of an amphitheatre, following the natural orography of the hill), the hemicycle, the nymphaeum, the caves, the fountains and the water illusions, and the vineyard. The palace was enriched by Princess Ludovica in the second half of the 17th century, and by the Savoy queens during the following century. Between 1723 and 1729 architect Filippo Juvarra modified the central part of the villa and the lateral pavilions, refurnishing the interiors and entrusting the main artists of the time (including the ebony-worker Pietro Piffetti and painters Giuseppe Dallamano and Giovanni Battista Crosato) with the decoration. In more recent years, important renovation works have been carried out, concerning both the gardens and the apartments.