Description
The Palazzo Chiablese is a Savoy residence in Piazza San Giovanni, in the historic center of Turin, next to the Cathedral and the Royal Palace. It is part of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and still shows the rooms where the royal family lived.
The exterior is sober, in brick, but inside the palace changes face. An atrium with columns and cross vaults leads to the two courtyards, while a grand marble staircase climbs to the state apartments.
The rooms are those renewed by Benedetto Alfieri in the mid-18th century: gilded stucco, wood paneling and overdoors painted by some of the most admired painters at the Turin court, in French taste.
In the Alcove room stands the double cabinet by the celebrated cabinetmaker Pietro Piffetti. Another piece to remember are the tapestries of the Stories of Artemisia, woven in Paris by the Gobelins and bought in 1620.
On November 20, 1851, in this palace, Margherita of Savoy was born, destined to become the first queen of Italy. According to tradition, the Margherita pizza is dedicated to her.
Cardinals, dukes and kings passed through the Savoy alcove. During the French occupation, Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, lived here with her husband Camillo Borghese, governor of the territories beyond the Alps.
Once the Savoys were back, King Charles Felix preferred these rooms to the nearby Royal Palace and died here in 1831. The name comes from Benedetto Maurizio, Duke of Chablais, to whom his father Charles Emmanuel III assigned the palace in 1753.
The bombings of 1943-44 badly damaged the rooms facing the Piazzetta Reale. Many furnishings were lost, but something survived: Piffetti's double cabinet, which had illegally ended up abroad, was recovered by the carabinieri in 2018.
After the war damage the palace was rebuilt and restored, and for a long time housed public offices. The state rooms can be visited with Touring Club volunteers, who accompany visitors on guided tours. The palace also holds paintings by Crivelli, Cignaroli, Beaumont and Tallone.
The exterior is sober, in brick, but inside the palace changes face. An atrium with columns and cross vaults leads to the two courtyards, while a grand marble staircase climbs to the state apartments.
The rooms are those renewed by Benedetto Alfieri in the mid-18th century: gilded stucco, wood paneling and overdoors painted by some of the most admired painters at the Turin court, in French taste.
In the Alcove room stands the double cabinet by the celebrated cabinetmaker Pietro Piffetti. Another piece to remember are the tapestries of the Stories of Artemisia, woven in Paris by the Gobelins and bought in 1620.
On November 20, 1851, in this palace, Margherita of Savoy was born, destined to become the first queen of Italy. According to tradition, the Margherita pizza is dedicated to her.
Cardinals, dukes and kings passed through the Savoy alcove. During the French occupation, Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, lived here with her husband Camillo Borghese, governor of the territories beyond the Alps.
Once the Savoys were back, King Charles Felix preferred these rooms to the nearby Royal Palace and died here in 1831. The name comes from Benedetto Maurizio, Duke of Chablais, to whom his father Charles Emmanuel III assigned the palace in 1753.
The bombings of 1943-44 badly damaged the rooms facing the Piazzetta Reale. Many furnishings were lost, but something survived: Piffetti's double cabinet, which had illegally ended up abroad, was recovered by the carabinieri in 2018.
After the war damage the palace was rebuilt and restored, and for a long time housed public offices. The state rooms can be visited with Touring Club volunteers, who accompany visitors on guided tours. The palace also holds paintings by Crivelli, Cignaroli, Beaumont and Tallone.