| Palazzo Madama | |
|---|---|
 Juvarra's façade of the castle | |
  Palazzo Madama Location within Turin | |
 Interactive fullscreen map | |
| General information | |
| Coordinates | 45°04′15″N7°41′09″E / 45.07094°N 7.68578°E /45.07094; 7.68578 |
| Criteria | (i)(ii)(iv)(v) |
| Reference | 823bis |
| Inscription | 1997 (21stSession) |
Palazzo Madama is a palace inTurin, Piedmont. It was the firstSenate of the Kingdom of Italy, and takes its traditional name from the embellishments it received under two queens (madama) of theHouse of Savoy.
In 1997, it was placed on theUNESCO World Heritage Site list along with 13 otherresidences of the House of Savoy.[1]
At the beginning of the first century BC, the site of the palace was occupied by a gate in the Roman walls from which thedecumanus maximus ofAugusta Taurinorum (the ancient name of Turin) departed. Two of the towers, although restored, still testify to this original nucleus. After the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, the gate was used as a fortified stronghold in the defences of the city.
Later the building became a possession of the Savoia-Acaja, a secondary branch of theHouse of Savoy; in the early 14th century, they enlarged it into acastle. A century later Ludovico of Acaja rebuilt it in square shape, with an inner court and aportico, and four cylindrical towers at each corner. The form of this edifice is still clearly recognisable from the back section of the palace. After the extinction of the Acajas, the edifice became a residence for guests of theHouse of Savoy.
In 1637 the regent for DukeCharles Emmanuel II,Christine of France (aunt ofLouis XIV), chose it as her personal residence. She commissioned the covering of the court and a revamping of the inner apartments. Sixty years later another regent,Marie Jeanne of Savoy, who was known asMadama Reale, lived in the palace. She conferred upon it definitively the nickname ofMadama (Italian forMadame). She invited many artists to renovate the building which the duchess wanted to turn into a sumptuous royal palace.[2] The artistDomenico Guidobono became the undisputed protagonist of the decorations of the halls on the first floor of Palazzo Madama, known as the Guidobono halls – the Madama Reale’s Chamber, the Chinese Cabinet, and the Southern Veranda.[3] The duchess also asked architectFilippo Juvarra to design a new Baroque palace in white stone, which he did in 1716, but the works halted in 1721 after only the front section had been completed.
Later the palace had various uses, and housed the headquarters of the provisional French government during theNapoleonic Wars. In the 19th century KingCharles Albert selected it as seat of thePinacoteca Regia, the royal art gallery called after 1933Galleria Sabauda, and, later, of theSubalpine Senate (the Parliament of theKingdom of Sardinia) and of the High Court. Since 1934 it has housed theCity Museum of Ancient Art.
OverlookingPiazza Castello, the section built by Juvarra (illustration, right) constitutes today a scenographic façade a single bay deep, screening the rear part of the edifice, which has remained unchanged (illustration, above right). On the exterior, Juvarra expressed what was intended as a magnificent architectural preamble to an edifice that was never built, as a high-ceilingedpiano nobile with arch-headed windows, which is linked to amezzanine above it by a colossal row of pilasters of thecomposite order. Each pilaster stands on a sturdy and formalfielded channel-rusticated base against the ashlar masonry of the ground floor. The central three bays are emphasised by the bolder relief offered by full columns attached to the façade, which is returned inward behind them to afford a vast glass-fronted central interior space like a glazedloggia. Their prominence is emphasised by the tall socles on which they stand, carved with trophies of arms in relief. In the flanking triple bays, each central bay is broken slightly forwards, given its window a deeper, more shadowed reveal within the depth of the wall; its two outer giant pilasters overlap the main order as if that continued behind them. On either side the bays' windows are set together within a slightly recessed panel, thus there are three layered planes to the façade. Thedentiled cornice supported on boldconsoles in the frieze breaks forward over the central columns and subtly over the central bays of the flanking sections as well.[4] A conformingbalustrade decorated with vases and statues in white marble surmounts the façade.
On 25 January 2022, the semi-final allocation draw and host city handover for theEurovision Song Contest 2022 was set and took place at the palace.[5]
The Palazzo Madama houses theTurin City Museum of Ancient Art. Despite its name, it is a large collection of paintings, statues, church ornaments, porcelain, and decorative art, mostly from the late Middle Ages to the 18th century.
Turin's museum of ancient art, calledMuseo dell'Antichità, is located on the grounds of thePalazzo Reale.
Media related toPalazzo Madama (Turin) at Wikimedia Commons| Archaeological sites |  | |
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