Palazzo Reale di Torino
Il Palazzo Reale di Torino (UNESCO 1997) è la residenza ufficiale storica della Casa Savoia — costruito nella forma attuale tra il 1646 e il 1660 CE, affiancato dalla Cappella della Sacra Sindone di Guarino Guarini (1694 CE, la struttura più innovativa del barocco italiano), e sede dell’Armeria Reale (una delle 5 più importanti collezioni di armi d’Europa), il palazzo è il centro di Piazza Castello, il nodo urbano intorno al quale è costruita la Torino moderna.
At a glance
Torino Palazzo Reale (the most precisely Torino zone Torino Piemonte Italy 45.0738 N 7.6866 E UNESCO WHS 1997 reference 823: the Palazzo Reale complex (the complex includes: (1) the Palazzo Reale itself (the 168 m × 92 m main palace block: 7 floors; the piano nobile (the main floor; 2nd floor): 30 staterooms; the Scala delle Forbici (the “Scissors Staircase” (Filippo Juvarra, 1720 CE): a double-helix staircase (one ascending arm + one descending arm; the 2 arms share the same outer walls but never cross); 2 royal apartments (the King’s Apartment and the Queen’s Apartment; each 12 rooms; the furniture (the 18th-century Savoyard furniture; the Piedmontese lacquer cabinets (the “lacca piemontese”: a Piedmontese variant of the European chinoiserie fashion; painted in black and gold on a gray ground)); (2) the Cappella della Sacra Sindone (the Chapel of the Holy Shroud: Guarino Guarini (1624–1683 CE): the Theatine priest-architect who designed the most structurally daring baroque church in Italy: the chapel is inserted between the Palazzo Reale and the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista (the Duomo of Turin): it occupies a privileged link position between the royal palace and the cathedral; the dome (the specific structural innovation: the dome is built entirely in dark Frossasco stone (a grey-green mica schist from the Pinerolo area); the dome has 6 rings of arches, each rotated 30° relative to the ring below; the result is a spiraling hexagonal pattern that creates a false impression of infinite height (the oculus at the top is only 12 m from the highest arch ring but appears much higher because the spiral pattern confuses the eye’s depth perception)); (3) the Armeria Reale (the Royal Armory; open Tue–Sun 9 AM–6 PM; €14 (combined with Palazzo Reale and Galleria Sabauda)): the 2 main galleries: the Galleria Beaumont (1733 CE; the former palace gallery converted to an armory by Benedetto Alfieri (1757 CE)); the collection: 5,000 pieces (the 5th largest armory collection in Europe after Dresden, Vienna, Madrid, and Paris); the specific pieces: the armor of Emanuel Philibert of Savoy (1528–1580 CE; the “Iron Head”; the armor worn at the Battle of Saint-Quentin (1557 CE); the black-lacquered steel breastplate is one of the most important pieces of 16th-century armor surviving outside Germany); the child armor (the collection includes 4 child armors made for Savoy princes between the ages of 3 and 8: the smallest fits a 3-year-old; they were made for ceremonial use (the princes were presented to foreign ambassadors in armor from a young age to demonstrate the military character of the dynasty)).
Key facts
- La Cappella della Sacra Sindone e la cupola di Guarini: perché è considerata la struttura più audace del barocco italiano: the Guarini chapel (Guarino Guarini (1624–1683 CE): the Theatine father-architect who designed churches in Messina, Paris, Prague, and Lisbon before the Turin commission; the Turin Sacra Sindone chapel (1668–1694 CE: the building started 1668 CE; Guarini died 1683 CE before completion; the chapel was completed by his collaborators Gian Francesco Re and Antonio Bertola in 1694 CE; the dome was completed under Carlo Emanuele II’s patronage); the specific innovation (the Guarini dome differs from all previous Italian domes (Brunelleschi 1436, Michelangelo 1590, Maderno 1626) in one radical way: all previous Italian domes use solid curved masonry surfaces (pendentives + drum + dome shell); the Guarini dome uses open ribbed arches organized in a 6-fold spiral (each ring of 6 arches is displaced 30° from the ring below; 6 rings total; the rings get smaller toward the oculus; the arches are so thin (30 cm wide) that light passes between them; the visual effect from below is of a cone of light ascending into a spinning geometric vortex (the effect anticipates the Baroque illusionism of Pozzo’s ceiling at Sant’Ignazio in Rome (1694 CE) by 20 years)); the specific danger (the chapel was closed from 1997 CE (the fire that damaged it on 11–12 April 1997 CE (a fire broke out in the chapel during restoration work; the fire spread to the dome scaffolding; the dome was damaged but did not collapse; the fire was extinguished by firefighters who broke through the adjacent Palazzo Reale window to reach the chapel; the Shroud was rescued by firefighter Mario Trematore who shattered a glass case with a sledgehammer); the chapel was reopened partially in 2018 CE; the dome remains under restoration as of 2026 CE))
- GPS (Piazza Castello, ingresso Palazzo Reale): 45.0738° N, 7.6866° E
History
Da Emanuele Filiberto I ai Savoia all’Unità d’Italia al UNESCO 1997 (the most precisely Torino zone history: the Savoy capital (Turin became the permanent capital of the Duchy of Savoy in 1563 CE when Duke Emanuele Filiberto I (1528–1580 CE; “Testa di Ferro” (Iron Head)) transferred the capital from Chambery (Savoy, France) to Turin after the Battle of Saint-Quentin (10 August 1557 CE; the Savoy-Spanish victory against France): the reason for the move: Turin was more defensible against French encroachment than Chambery; Emanuele Filiberto immediately commissioned the star-shaped city fortification (the “pianta radiale”: the radial street plan that is still visible in the modern city center)); the construction of the Palazzo Reale (the current facade was designed by Amedeo di Castellamonte and Carlo Morello for Duke Carlo Emanuele II (1634–1675 CE) and built between 1646 and 1658 CE; the interior decoration occupied the rest of the 17th and most of the 18th century); the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1865 CE: Turin was the first capital of the unified Kingdom of Italy (1861 CE); the Palazzo Reale was the residence of Vittorio Emanuele II as King of Italy from 17 March 1861 CE (the date of the proclamation) to 3 February 1865 CE (the date of the capital move to Florence); the specific room: the Salone degli Svizzeri (the stateroom where Vittorio Emanuele II formally received Garibaldi on 6 June 1860 CE and 26 October 1861 CE (the famous “handshake of Teano” had occurred at Teano on 26 October 1860 CE; Garibaldi surrendered command of the Southern Italy forces to the King)); 1997 CE UNESCO serial inscription reference 823.
What you see
Il Palazzo Reale, la Scala delle Forbici, l’Armeria, la Cappella Sindone, e la Galleria Sabauda (the most precisely Torino zone visit (3–4 hours for the full Piazza Castello complex): the ticket system (the “Musei Reali di Torino” combined ticket: €18 (Palazzo Reale apartments + Armeria Reale + Galleria Sabauda + Museo di Antichità)); the Palazzo Reale visit (the piano nobile: 30 staterooms; the visitor route (the standard 45-minute guided route (audio guide available €3)): the Guardia Svizzera (the Swiss Guard room: the life-size portraits of the Savoy dukes and kings from 1563 to 1946 CE); the Sala dei Paggi (the Pages’ Room: the 8 tapestries (Flemish weavers, Bruges, 1620s CE); the Scala delle Forbici (the Juvarra scissors staircase (1720 CE): the double-helix plan; the steps are carved from a single marble quarry block each; the ceiling: Giovanni Battista Crosato (1730 CE); the Queen’s Apartment (the most elaborate interior: the Alcova (the bedroom: the carved and gilded wooden canopy bed (1740 CE; the most important example of Piedmontese Rococo furniture)); the Armeria Reale (the 2-hour option for military history enthusiasts: the 5,000 pieces in 2 main halls; the Emanuel Philibert armor; the child armors; the Japanese samurai armor (gift from the Japanese imperial court to Carlo Emanuele III (1701–1773 CE) in 1751 CE); the Galleria Sabauda (the Savoy art collection: 600 paintings on 2 floors; the most important: Antonello da Messina “Portrait of a Man” (c.1475 CE); Rogier van der Weyden “Stigmatization of St Francis” (c.1460 CE); the entire northern European Savoy collection (the Savoys had close ties to the Burgundian court and collected Flemish and German paintings from the 15th century onward)).
Practical information
- I Musei Reali di Torino: biglietto combinato, orari, e come ottimizzare la visita tra Palazzo Reale, Armeria e Galleria Sabauda: il sistema biglietti (acquisto online obbligatorio nei weekend estate a museireali.beniculturali.it; il biglietto “Musei Reali Torino” €18 include: Palazzo Reale (piano nobile + appartamenti reali) + Armeria Reale + Galleria Sabauda + Museo di Antichità + Giardini Reali; valido per 3 giorni (si può rientrare); l’orario (il martedì e mercoledì mattina 9–11: il meno affollato; il weekend estate: 1.000+ visitatori/giorno; in questo caso usare il biglietto “fast entry” (€25) che bypassa la fila standard)); la strategia 4 ore (9:00 Palazzo Reale piano nobile (1.5 ore) → 10:30 Armeria Reale (1 ora) → 11:30 Galleria Sabauda (1 ora) → 12:30 Giardini Reali (30 min; i giardini del Palazzo Reale; il labirinto barocco; la Fontana del Tritone)); la Cappella Sindone (2026: ancora parzialmente chiusa per restauro; verificare lo stato di apertura su museireali.beniculturali.it prima della visita; la cripta (il livello inferiore della cappella) è aperta anche nei periodi di chiusura del corpo principale))
Getting there
Trenitalia da Milano (45 min, €12.90, alta velocità). Metro Torino Linea 1 fermata Porta Nuova (5 min a piedi). GPS Piazza Castello: 45.0738, 7.6866.
Nearby
- Mole Antonelliana e Museo del Cinema — 800 m est (Alessandro Antonelli 1863–89 CE; 167 m; il Museo Nazionale del Cinema (i manifesti di Hitchcock, le macchine da presa di Chaplin, le pellicole originali di Fritz Lang); ascensore panoramico; €16 museo+ascensore; aperto mar-ven 9–20, sab 9–23)
- Museo Egizio di Torino — 500 m sud (Via Accademia delle Scienze 6; la più importante collezione egizia fuori del Cairo (30.000 pezzi); la Statua di Ramesse II dal tempio di Derr (1289 BCE; 4.5 m altezza); aperto lun–dom 9–18:30; €18)
Gallery
Sources
- Wikipedia, Royal Palace of Turin; Cappella della Sacra Sindone; Guarino Guarini, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, WHS reference 823, inscribed 1997
- Carboneri, Nino. Juvarra architetto. Roma: Officina, 1979 (per la Scala delle Forbici e il contributo di Juvarra al Palazzo Reale)
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Diventa un fotografo di Cultural Heritage Online
Condividi le tue foto dei luoghi: restano pubblicate con la tua firma come autore. Più vengono viste, più ti fai conoscere — e presto un concorso premierà le foto più apprezzate.
Accedi o registrati gratis per aggiungere una foto