Villa della Regina
Jun. 13th, 2011 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
london1967On Saturday afternoon, I went to visit a place in Turin I had never been before.
After stopping in Piazza Statuto to catch a tram and taking pictures of the Frejus monument, I travelled down via Po to the other side of the river.
The river is at the foot of the collina (i.e. the hills) torinese which, with the Crocetta, is the poshest part of town. Very green and dotted with villas is where the well-to-do live and from where they descend into town on their 4 wheel driver (which I suppose they have their use when it's snowy/icy).
Most of the villas dates from the 19th century but some are older.
Villa della Regina
dates from the 17th century.
It was built in 1613 for Cardinal Prince Maurizio di Savoia (Maurice of Savoy) and then at the end of that century it was given to Queen Anne Marie d'Orléans, wife of the Duke of Savoy. The villa has been known as Villa della Regina ever since.
It was then re-modelled by Filippo Juvarra, a Sicilian architect responsible for many of Turin's Baroque treasures.
The villa stayed in the hand of the Savoy Royal family until 1868 when King Vittorio Emanuele II sold it to the "national institute of the daughters of the army" after stripping it of its most valuable assets which were later shipped to the Quirinal palace in Rome.
The villa is in a fantastic position.
You can see most of the city and on clear days you have the wonderful backdrop of the Alps (sadly, Saturday it was quite hazy).
It has recently been opened to the public after many years of neglect and vandalism, following first the extensive damage sustained during an allied bombing of Turin in 1942 which also completely destroyed the nearby Palazzo Chiablese, and then the closure of the institute in 1975.
The villa is divided into two by the central hall
on one side are the King's rooms and on the other the Queen's rooms (of course!)
There are frescoes, stucco work and Chinese cabinets/wallpapers which reflect the taste of the time.
The park immediately outside the villa is lovely and very formal
After stopping in Piazza Statuto to catch a tram and taking pictures of the Frejus monument, I travelled down via Po to the other side of the river.
The river is at the foot of the collina (i.e. the hills) torinese which, with the Crocetta, is the poshest part of town. Very green and dotted with villas is where the well-to-do live and from where they descend into town on their 4 wheel driver (which I suppose they have their use when it's snowy/icy).
Most of the villas dates from the 19th century but some are older.
Villa della Regina
dates from the 17th century.
It was built in 1613 for Cardinal Prince Maurizio di Savoia (Maurice of Savoy) and then at the end of that century it was given to Queen Anne Marie d'Orléans, wife of the Duke of Savoy. The villa has been known as Villa della Regina ever since.
It was then re-modelled by Filippo Juvarra, a Sicilian architect responsible for many of Turin's Baroque treasures.
The villa stayed in the hand of the Savoy Royal family until 1868 when King Vittorio Emanuele II sold it to the "national institute of the daughters of the army" after stripping it of its most valuable assets which were later shipped to the Quirinal palace in Rome.
The villa is in a fantastic position.
You can see most of the city and on clear days you have the wonderful backdrop of the Alps (sadly, Saturday it was quite hazy).
It has recently been opened to the public after many years of neglect and vandalism, following first the extensive damage sustained during an allied bombing of Turin in 1942 which also completely destroyed the nearby Palazzo Chiablese, and then the closure of the institute in 1975.
The villa is divided into two by the central hall
on one side are the King's rooms and on the other the Queen's rooms (of course!)
There are frescoes, stucco work and Chinese cabinets/wallpapers which reflect the taste of the time.
 |  |
The park immediately outside the villa is lovely and very formal
 |  |
with statues and fountains
 |  |
The extensive grounds also sport a vineyard which in the last couple of years has produced the only wine within the city boundaries.
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Date: 2011-06-13 09:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-14 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-13 10:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-14 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-13 11:33 am (UTC)These are really lovely. The palace is wonderfully overwhelming.
We never made it up to Torino when we were in Italy. Seeing these pictures makes me wish we had. I love the gardens. They remind me a bit of the Boboli Gardens in Florence. I think the next trip to Italy should include a trip to Torino, and more time in Milano.
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Date: 2011-06-14 02:59 pm (UTC)I think Turin has improved in the last 10 years or so and there are many more tourists these days (which is quite lovely).
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Date: 2011-06-13 01:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-14 02:59 pm (UTC)We should arrange to be there at the same time - Adrian hasn't been to Turin in years.
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Date: 2011-06-14 04:33 pm (UTC)Speaking of which, I am scheduled to fly to Berlin, via Munich, tonight, on Air Canada. Unfortunately, the airline went on strike yesterday at mid-night. In all likelihood, my plane will depart--eventually. But I will probably miss my connection in Munich because of delays, and have to deal with situation in Munich. It's this sort of thing that makes me so anxious about international travel and less inclined to do it.
Of course, your experience of the trains in Italy has prepared you well for such eventualities...!
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Date: 2011-06-15 08:41 am (UTC)Hope you got to Berlin without too much hassle/delays.
We haven't really made any firm plans yet. Perhaps in late March, combining it with a solo visit to my parents but we may decide to go somewhere warmer instead.
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Date: 2011-06-13 02:23 pm (UTC)So beautiful
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Date: 2011-06-14 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-13 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-14 02:59 pm (UTC)I knew that there would be pictures…
Date: 2011-06-14 06:24 am (UTC)Chuck
Re: I knew that there would be pictures…
Date: 2011-06-14 03:00 pm (UTC)