Begun as the royal hillside vineyard of cardinal Maurice and the princess Ludovica, it was the delitiosa residence of duchesses, princesses and queens of the House of Savoy up until the 19th century. It’s just up the hill across the Po River in Turin. A hidden gem!
The courtly residence, with Royal Apartments leading off from the superb main room, reflects in the decorations and furnishings the fashionable taste for precious arts and exoticism that prevailed in European courts in the 18th century.
We spent an entire (rainy) afternoon enjoying the interiors and marveling at the detailed frescos, trompe-de-l’oeil and intricate furnishings of the Savoy dynasty’s “country house,” probably mainly used only in September! The level of workmanship is astounding! Enjoy!
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- The front
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- With our friend Thomas, in town from France
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- Note the fountain behind me
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- the great stairs up to the entryway
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- the little “back house”
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- this is where the vineyards used to be
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- note the modern vineyards in the background, that they have refurbished!
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- a closeup of the original colors
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- one side of the back
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- the other side of the back
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- nice “little” courtyard
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- Right side of the back yard
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- better perspective of the right side
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- in the rain, in the back courtyard
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- filled with statues
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- an interior fresco on the ceiling “chinoiserie”
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- even the shutters are gilded!
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- The “Chinoiserie ROOM”!
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- details on the doors
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- the shutters, closed
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- more ceiling details
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- surround of the windows
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- ceiling in the Chinese room
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- Ceiling in the chinese room
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- Check out this moulding!!
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- another style of fresco in this room!
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- lights turned down low to give you an idea what it looked like back in the day
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- frescos
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- view to the back yard
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- How’s THIS for a lacquered cabinet?
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- Yet another decorated door
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- My husband taking it all in!
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- built-in mirrors
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- furniture (a little later period)
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- Moulding
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- Moulding
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- More frescos on the walls
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- Frescos
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- Frescos!
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- Frescos
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- Not a bad view….
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- Frescos
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- details around windows
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- Note the use of moulding and frescos
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- Amazing ceilings
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- frescos + gilt!
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- Gorgeous inlaid floors
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- Showing what the library looked like before they tore it out and put it in the Quirinal buildings!
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- Frescos in the “chinese Style”
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- Fresco details
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- Trompe-de-l’oeil in the great room
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- Can you tell what’s real and what’s just paint?
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