Peek Inside the Royal Palace of Turin, Italy's First Capital

Issue #22

The armory might be the most magnificent space in the palace

Nowadays, we take it for granted that Rome is the capital of Italy, but did you know that wasn’t always the case? When Italy became a unified country, its first capital was actually Turin. The Kingdom of Italy was officially declared on March 17, 1861 and Vittorio Emanuele II, then King of Piedmont-Sardinia, was proclaimed its king. 

Up until that point, the Italian peninsula was made up of a number of different kingdoms and dukedoms. There was the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ruled by the Bourbon dynasty (Naples and Sicily), Venetia and Lombardy (then part of the Austro-Habsburg Empire), the Papal States (which ruled over Rome, Umbria, le Marche, and part of Emilia Romagna), the grand duchy of Tuscany, the Ligurian Republic, the duchy of Parma, and Piedmont-Sardinia (ruled by the House of Savoy), and probably some others that I’ve neglected to mention. 

This is what you first see when you enter the Royal Palace

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were characterized by revolutions and war that redrew the borders not only of Italy but many other countries in Europe. It was, for example, an alliance between Napoleon III and Vittorio Emanuele II, then ruler of the House of Savoy, that resulted in Nice being returned to France in exchange for Napoleon III’s help in defeating the Austrians.

The whole story is far too complex for me to fully understand, let alone summarize in a neat little synopsis. My aim is merely to provide a bit of historical context before turning my attention to the Royal Palace of Turin, which I visited a few weeks ago for the first time. Sent to Turin for just 24 hours on a completely unrelated assignment, I was determined to visit the Royal Palace, which I missed on previous trips to Piedmont—and boy was it worth it.

The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site

Located right in the heart of the city, the palace was built in the 17th century as the Savoy royal residence. Its gardens were designed by André Le Notre—the landscape designer of Versailles—in the late 17th century.

Today the Musei Reali di Torino in the palace complex comprises the royal apartments, the armory, the baroque Cappella della Sindone, the royal library, Galleria Sabauda, and the Museum of Antiquities. To visit all of them, you would need three or four hours. I only had a couple of hours before I had to catch the train back to Rome, so I had to rush through the Galleria Sabauda and the Museum of Antiquities. Nor did I have time to visit the royal library or the gardens. Still, I’m glad I went.

These are just a few of the opulently decorated rooms

For me, the highlights were the royal apartments and the armory. The royal apartments are just as opulent as you would expect. There are large halls, a throne room, smaller rooms—including one decorated in chinoiserie—a formal dining room, and a ballroom. The royal apartments have all the trappings of a royal residence—ceiling frescoes, gilded moldings, crystal chandeliers, fireplaces, antiques, and gold-framed paintings—you know, the things wealthy aristocrats liked to put in their homes back then. 

By contrast, the king’s apartment—only open sometimes for special guided tours—is much more modest in both scale and decor. I was surprised to see that the king’s bed was a humble single bed with a simple wrought iron frame. His en-suite bathroom has an oddly shallow bathtub, a simple sink, and bidet. In his office, there’s a small desk with a telephone. 

Not exactly what I expected the king's apartment to look like

The armory might be the most impressive space in the whole palace complex. Located in the Queen’s Gallery, whose ceilings were decorated by court painter Claudio Francesco Beaumont between 1738 and 1742, it boasts arms and armor, including the metal armor worn by Medieval knights and their horses—the kind of stuff you read about in fairytales. 

The Royal Palace is one of 14 royal residences now protected by UNESCO that were built by the House of Savoy. The Reggia di Venaria, a former hunting residence sometimes considered the grandest of all the palaces, is currently closed, but I hope to visit it on another trip to Turin. 

Further Reading

• My esteemed colleague Luke Abrahams wrote this guide to Turin for Condé Nast Traveller, which led me to some of the other highlights on this brief trip, like the art nouveau Galleria Subalpina and the incredible Galleria Gilibert antique bookstore inside it.

• This Turin guide by my colleague Monica Mendal for Vogue also has lots of great suggestions for the best hotels, restaurants, shops, and things to do.

• This article in Italy Magazine gives a bit of background on the Savoy royal residences.

• As you might know, I love Piedmont and wrote about why you should visit this under-the-radar region for the sixth issue of this newsletter.