Carignano Palace
Carignano Palace was built by the will of Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia Carignano, designed by renowned architect Modena (and father Theatine) Guarino Guarini. The construction began in 1679 and was completed two years after the architect died in 1685. This is one of the most important Italian Baroque architectures: the facade of bricks, which respond to the performance of the curvilinear symmetrical ramps of stairs inside, was inspired both by Bernini’s projects for the Louvre as by the works of Borromini.
The building, built in an area used as stables by Prince Thomas, who is the founder of the cadet branch of the Savoia-Carignano, occupied only a part of the present: the rear wing, overlooking the Carlo Alberto Square, was built after 1861 to house the hall of the first Italian Parliament, but in 1848 the main hall of the seventeenth century building had been transformed to accommodate the members of the Subalpine Parliament. In fact, the new hall was never used, due to the transfer of capital to Florence, which took place in 1865.
The complex is entrusted to the Superintendence for the Historical, Artistic and Ethno-anthropological Heritage of Piedmont, based in courtly apartments on the ground floor, where it retains a rich decoration of the late seventeenth century, characterized by the affreschi of the Milanese Stefano Maria Legnani, said Legnanino. The lounges of the Royal floor houses the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento, established in 1878, after the death of Vittorio Emanuele II.
Soprintendente: Edith Gabrielli
Via Accademia delle Scienze, 5 - 10123 Torino
Tel. 011 5641711/011 549547
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