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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of Villa della Regina | |
| Location | Turin,Piedmont,Italy |
| Part of | Residences of the Royal House of Savoy |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i)(ii)(iv)(v) |
| Reference | 823bis-003 |
| Inscription | 1997 (21stSession) |
| Extensions | 2010 |
| Area | 12.03 ha (29.7 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 7.3 ha (18 acres) |
| Coordinates | 45°3′32.4″N7°42′23.0″E / 45.059000°N 7.706389°E /45.059000; 7.706389 |
  Villa della Regina Location of Villa della Regina in Turin  Villa della Regina Villa della Regina (Piedmont) Show map of Piedmont | |
TheVilla della Regina is a once semi-rural palace, now surrounded by the city ofTurin,Piedmont, Italy. It is located at Strada Santa Margherita #79 in the eastern sector of the city, in the quarter of Borgo Po. It was originally built by theHouse of Savoy in the 17th century.
In 1997, it was placed on theUNESCO World Heritage Site list along with 13 otherresidences of the House of Savoy.[1]
The original structure was designed in early 1615 by the Italian soldier, architect and military engineer,Ascanio Vitozzi. When he died in 1615, the project passed to his collaborators, father and sonCarlo andAmedeo di Castellamonte. The original building was commissioned for the Prince-CardinalMaurice of Savoy during the reign of his brotherVictor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy. The private villa was graced with its own vineyard and later associated with women of the House of Savoy, hence it was also called theVigna di Madama. In 1637, when Victor Amadeus died, a succession crisis ensued pitting the claims of the former duke's brothers, Maurice andThomas Prince of Carignano against those of his young children, under the regency of Victor's widow,Christine Marie of France. Ultimately Christine and her French alliance forced Thomas into exile, and Maurice into compliant assent. Maurice resigned his appointment as a cardinal, accepted an appointment as governor of Nice, and in 1642 the 49 year old married Christine's putatively illegitimate 14 year old daughterLouise Christine of Savoy. Maurice died in this villa in 1657, and his wife inherited it along with its large art collection. Lacking offspring, in 1692 she deeded the property to her niece,Anne Marie d'Orléans who in 1684 had married KingVictor Amadeus II of Savoy in 1684. Anne Marie was also niece of King Louis XIV of France.
She used the Vigna when she could. She engaged the court architectFilippo Juvarra to refurbish the house and gardens. The palace was divided into apartments for the king and for the queen. Ceilings were frescoed byClaudio Francesco Belmont.[2] Most of the present frescoed décor of the Vigna is from her lifetime. Her husband was the King of Sicily from 1713 until 1720 when he exchanged Sicily withSardinia. From then on, the building was known asVilla della Regina ("Villa of the Queen"). It was here Anne Marie died in 1728. Anne Marie's eldest daughterMaria Adelaide[3] came here and tried to recreate aMénagerie similar to that of Versailles.
Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg, daughter-in-law of Anne Marie, did some work in the main saloon of the building when she became the owner of the villa in 1728 at the death of Anne Marie. From the 1730s onward, the refurbishment was completed by Juvarra's pupilGiovanni Pietro Baroni of Tavigliano. Under his direction the impressive entrance hall frescoed quadratura and panels were completed byGiovanni Battista Crosato,Daniel Seyter andCorrado Giaquinto in the main room, with grotesques byFilippo Minei and paintings by the brothersDomenico andGiuseppe Valeriani. There are also preciouschinoiserie Cabinets in lacquer and golden wood. In the park there is thePavilion of the Solinghi, a pagoda building in which theAcademy of the Solinghi used to meet; it was a group of intellectuals founded by the Cardinal Maurice.
The Villa was later used by the SpanishQueen of SardiniaMaria Antonietta Ferdinanda.[4] It remained the property of the House of Savoy until 1868 when it was donated byVictor Emmanuel II of Italy to the Institute of the Army's Daughters and in 1994 it was given to the State domain. Many furnishings were moved to Rome, others were lost to theft or bombing during the Second World War, it is today open to the public in order to fund its maintenance. The canvases by Giaquinto depictingStory of Aeneas were moved to the Quirinal palace in Rome.
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