Palace of Venaria, Royal palace museum in Venaria Reale, Italy
The Palace of Venaria is a royal residence in Venaria Reale that spans multiple pavilions and formal gardens. Baroque courtyards connect decorated interior halls with an extended gallery lit by two-story window facades.
Charles Emmanuel II bought the villages of Altessano Superiore and Inferiore in 1658 and had Amedeo di Castellamonte design a hunting palace there, begun in 1659; the site was renamed Venaria from the Latin Venatio Regia, royal hunt. Michelangelo Garove rebuilt and enlarged it after French attacks in 1693 and 1706, and from 1716 Filippo Juvarra added the Galleria Grande and the chapel of Sant'Uberto. After the Napoleonic Wars it served as a cavalry barracks until restoration began in 1978, opening to the public in 2007.
The name comes from the Latin Venatio Regia, "royal hunt", after the heath where Charles Emmanuel II hunted. The adjoining town was laid out on a circular plan imitating the collar of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation. The chapel of Sant'Uberto, patron saint of the hunt, was built by Filippo Juvarra from 1716.
The complex lies in Venaria Reale, about 10 km north of Turin, and is reached by bus or train from the city. The palace and gardens cover a large area, so allow several hours and wear comfortable shoes. The gardens were remade as a parade ground under Napoleon and later restored; the 2019 award as Italy's most beautiful public park dates from that recovery.
After military occupation following Napoleon's campaigns, calcium layers accumulated on the frescoes and columns. Restorers carefully removed these deposits layer by layer to reveal the original 18th-century paintings beneath.
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