Centre Travel

Built in the mid-1600, as a hunting lodge for Charles Emmanuel 11, it was designed by Amedeo di Castellamonte who made the central Hall of Diana an ideal junction point between the palazzo and the gardens. Victor Amedeus 11 commissioned first Garove and then Juvarra to work on the building, and they created some of its masterpieces:  the Great Gallery, the Church of St.Hubert and the complex consisting of the Great Stables and the Orangerie.  Later on, Benedetto Alfieri created the "Rondo"  with the statues representing the Seasons. After a long restoration, the Palace with its fascinating tour is now the home to major exhibitions and concerts: a cultural project in which the ancient and the new combine harmoniously. Reggia di Veraria Piazza della Repubblica,4 Venaria Reale Torino Tel:   +39 011 4992333     prenotazioni@laveneriareale.it     www.lavenaria.it

A Palace for the cadet princes The Chiablese Palace is an austere building on Piazza del Duomo, connected to the Royal Palace and currently containing the offices of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and activities. Redesigned by Benedetto Alfieri in the mid-1700's, for many years it was the home to the prince cadets of the dynasty, including the duke of Chablais and the duke of Genoa Charles Felix who was to become king of Sardinia.  It was the residence of Pauline Bonaparte and the birthplace of Margareth, Italy's first queen. The interiors reveal precious and refined taste in decoration: a linear and bright staircase in  marble leads to the piano nobile where there is a series of sumptuously furnished and richly decorated rooms. Palazzo Chiablese Piazza San Giovanni, 2 Torino Tel:   +39 011 5220409 Email:   dr-pie.comunicazione@beniculturali.it Web:     www.piemonte.beniculturali.it

A way of travelling through time is a visit to the Madama Palace. From its Roman foundations to the medieval towers and on to the medieval towers and on to the sumptuous baroque of the staircase by Juvarra Palazzo Madama Piazza Castello Torino Tel;   +39 011 4433501 Email:   palazzomadama@fondazionetorinomusei.it Web:     www.palazzomadamatorino.it