The Palace of Venaria (Italian: Reggia di Venaria Reale) is a former royal residence and gardens located in Venaria Reale, near Turin in the Piedmont region in northern Italy. It is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, included in the UNESCO Heritage List in 1997.
The Palace was designed and built from 1675 by Amedeo di Castellamonte, commissioned by duke Charles Emmanuel II, who needed a base for his hunting expeditions in the heathy hill country north of Turin. The name itself derives from Latin, Venatio Regia meaning "Royal Hunt". It was enlarged to become a luxurious residence for the House of Savoy. The palace complex became a masterpiece of Baroque architecture and was filled with decoration and artwork. It fell into disuse at the end of the 18th century. After the Napoleonic wars, it was used for military purposes until 1978, when its renovation began, leading to the largest restoration project in European history. It opened to the public on October 13, 2007, and it has since become a major tourist attraction and exhibition space.
It is noted for its monumental architecture and Baroque interiors by Filippo Juvarra, including the Galleria Grande and its marble decorations, the chapel of Saint Uberto, and its extensive gardens. It received 1,048,857 visitors in 2017, making it the sixth most visited museum in Italy.
History
17th century structure
Charles Emmanuel II was inspired by the example of the Castle of Mirafiori, built by Duke Charles Emmanuel I for his wife Catherine Michaela of Spain. Keen to leave a memorial of himself and his wife, Marie Jeanne of Savoy-Nemours, he bought the two small villages of Altessano Superiore and Altessano Inferiore from the Milanese-origin Birago family, who had employed the land for agricultural use. The place was rechristened Venaria for its future function as a hunting base (Venatio, in Latin). The construction of this residence fell in the larger plan of surrounding the city of Turin with a garland of delicacies (Corona di Delizie), a system of palaces and leisure residences which included the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi, Castle of Rivoli, Villa della Regina, and others. In 1658 Charles Emmanuel commissioned the project of the palace and the new town built around to architect Amedeo di Castellamonte. The plan envisioned a grandiose ensemble of a palace, gardens, hunting woods, and a new town, bearing a noteworthy scenographic impact. The new town's plan was circular to reflect the round shape of the collar of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, a dynastic order created by the House of Savoy. Construction began in 1659 and under the direction of Amedeo di Castellamonte work proceeded steadily, starting with the stable and the clock tower in 1660. The Palace of Diana, functioning as the central body of the palace and intended to house the duke and the court, was built in successive phases: it was first built on two levels with short side loggias and subsequently raised bu adding two more floors, the topmost of which was intended as a belvedere, between 1660 and 1663. It was then modified with the creation of apartments more suitable for private life, of smaller dimensions compared to the halls and parade chambers of the central body. The building was further expanded with the creation of pavilions facing the gardens in 1669 and of small pavilions that close off the courtyards on both sides of the palace in 1671. The facade was built with a loggia on the first floor flanked by grand arched entrances, the left one of which was subsequently destroyed during the renovations of Garove. The layout of the plan, consisting of a main compact block volume denote the influence of late sixteenth-century Roman works, such as the layouts of Villa Borghese and that of Villa Mondragone.
Castellamonte also built the loggia and theater in the upper garden (1666), the square in front of the palace (1667), the twin facades of the churches in the town square (1669), the citroneria and the fountain of Hercules, the avenue of the fountain of Hercules (1671), the temple of Diana in the gardens (1673), the porticos of the central street of the town (1679). The entire complex was tied together by the straight axis that cut across the town, reached the heart of palace, followed the canal and arrived to the fountain of Hercules and finally the temple of Diana in the gardens.