The Royal Palace of Venaria Reale
The l7th-century Royal Palace, designed in 1658 by Amedeo di Castellamonte for Duke Carlo Emanuele II, is dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the hunt, and the Gallery of Diana, the Citronnerie, the Stables and the Chapel of St Uberto, all famous works by Juvarra (1716-28), make up the so-called Turinese “Versailles”. It is a complex of extraordinary size (480,000 sq.m) which exists in symbiosis with the village and surrounding park. The Residence will be turned into a large workyard for restoration scheduled by the Ministry for Cultural Treasures and Activities, and by the Region of Piedmont, with funding from the European Union.
The surrounding park – called La Mandria – measuring 6,500 hectares, has been open to the public since 1978, offering visitors charming bicycle paths set within the largest plane forest environment of the Val Padana, and inhabited by stags, deer and wild boar.