PALAZZO CARIGNANO
A true hidden gem
Matteo
8/25/20262 min read
On the ground floor are the noble apartments. Specifically, the "Southern" or "Princes'" apartment offers a remarkable artistic journey, from the carved beech wood paneling covered in gold leaf that has earned the two main rooms the nickname "Golden Rooms," to the frescoed vaults by Milanese artist Stefano Maria Legnani, known as Legnanino, one of the great masters of Baroque painting in Italy. The last two small rooms, overlooking Piazza Carignano, once the Princes' dressing rooms, house the desks used by Camillo Cavour when the Palace became state property of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
In short, visiting Palazzo Carignano is a true lesson in architecture, art, and history. A cultural journey that is still little-traveled and therefore more enjoyable even on the city's busiest days.
Central Turin, in one of the city's most elegant and stately squares, lies a true hidden gem: Palazzo Carignano. Although the palace stands proudly in the square of the same name, few steps away from the Royal Palace and the Egyptian Museum, and although all visitors see it at least once during their stay, few of them truly discover it by visiting its interior.
This extraordinary building, designed by the Modena-born architect Guarino Guarini (who also authored other works in Turin, such as the Chapel of the Holy Shroud and the Church of San Lorenzo), commissioned by the Princes of Savoy Carignano, is a veritable treasure trove of history, art, and knowledge.
The first floor of the building houses the extraordinary National Museum of the Risorgimento, a rich collection of relics and works that recount the epic unification of the Italian peninsula into a sovereign state under the leadership of the House of Savoy. The thirty rooms describe both the historical processes and political debates, the military campaigns of the three wars of independence, and the key figures who led Italy to national unity, from Garibaldi to Mazzini, Camillo Cavour, and Victor Emmanuel II. The focal point of the visit is the chamber of the first Italian Parliament, where the Italian peninsula was declared a Kingdom on March 17, 1861.
