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Courtyard and the hunting park, Hunting residence of Stupinigi

The plan of the building is defined by the figure of the four cross arms of Sant’Andrea, interspersed with the central axis that coincides with the path that leads from Turin to the palace through a beautiful tree-lined avenue that flanks farmhouses and stables, ancient dependencies of the building.

The central nucleus consists of a large central oval-shaped hall from which four lower arms depart to form a cross of Saint Andrew. In the arms are located the royal apartments and those for guests. The heart of the building is the large double height oval hall with “concave-convex” balconies, surmounted by the statue of the Deer, by Francesco Ladatte: with Juvarra’s departure from Turin (destination Madrid), Prince Charles Emanuele III entrusted the direction of the works to Giovanni Tommaso Prunotto, who proceeded to expand the building starting from the sketches left by the architect from Messina, thus trying to safeguard the complex play of light and shapes dear to his predecessor. This is how a large number of artists were called to court in the “Real Fabrica” to decorate the new rooms. The interior is in Italian Rococo, made up of precious materials such as lacquers, porcelain, gilded stuccos, mirrors and briars which, today, extend an area of about 31,000 square meters, while 14,000 are occupied by the adjacent buildings, 150,000 by the park and 3,800 from the external flower beds; overall, there are 137 rooms and 17 galleries.

The building protrudes anteriorly enclosing a vast octagonal courtyard, onto which the service buildings overlook.

Among the fine pieces of furniture made for the building, mention should be made of the carver Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo, Pietro Piffetti and Luigi Prinotto. The building preserves decorations by the Venetian painters Giuseppe and Domenico Valeriani, by Gaetano Perego, and the Viennese Christan Wehrlin. The frescoes by Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli, Gian Battista Crosato and Carlo Andrea Van Loo should also be mentioned.

Entrance
Starting from the entrance to the complex, you enter the vast area of the Galleria dei Ritratti, which was part of the lateral stables designed and built by Filippo Juvarra after the completion of the central complex of the building. This space was therefore used for the storage of carriages and the shelter of horses during hunting trips. Here today is the original statue of the Stupinigi deer made by Francesco Ladatte in 1766 which overlooked the dome of the central hall and which was sheltered in the hall in 1992 and replaced with a modern bronze copy for conservation reasons. The sculpture is surrounded by portraits carved in low relief in wood on commission byVittorio Emanuele II and originally intended for the Moncalieri Castle. In the first library and then in the library, you can find the change in taste of the mid-eighteenth century, that is when the stables area was reduced to make room for a partitioned library with shelves designed by Benedetto Alfieri and painted in colors such as blue, ivory and gold, accompanied by allegories of the arts and sciences painted by Giuseppe Nogari as an over door.

The entrance to the complex gives access to the vast area of the Galleria dei Ritratti (Portrait Gallery) which was part of the side stables designed and built by Filippo Juvarra after the completion of the central complex of the building. This space was therefore used for the carriages and coaches and to house horses during the hunts. Here today stands the original statue of Stupinigi’s deer created by Francesco Ladatte in 1766 which overlooked the dome of the central hall. It was placed in this room in 1992 and the top of the dome was replaced with a modern bronze copy. The sculpture is surrounded by carved wooden bas-relief portraits commissioned by Vittorio Emanuele II and originally intended for the Moncalieri Castle. In the first library and then in the second library one can find the change of taste in the mid-eighteenth century when the stables area was reduced to make room for a library sandwiched with shelves designed by Benedetto Alfieri and painted in blue, ivory and gold, accompanied by allegories of the arts and sciences painted by Giuseppe Nogari.

The park
The hunting park that belonged to a branch of the House of Savoia was given to Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in 1563, when he moved the capital of the duke from Chambéry to Turin. The garden of the hunting lodge and the surrounding hunting estate are clearly distinguished in Stupinigi: the complex, in fact, is part of a large geometric garden, characterized by a continuous succession of flowerbeds, parterres and avenues. This park, bordered by a wall and intersected by long avenues, was designed by the French gardener Michael Benard in 1740. The hunting park, or estate, was instead constituted by the vast area of almost 1,700 hectares that extended outside the fenced park and which had been expropriated by the Duke Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia in 1563 from the Pallavicini. This area included land and woods included today in the municipalities of Nichelino, Orbassano and Candiolo.

In Stupinigi the garden of the hunting lodge and the surrounding hunting lodge are clearly distinguished: the complex, in fact, is inserted within a vast geometric garden, characterized by a continuous succession of flower beds, parterres and avenues, which can be in all respects considered the real garden of the palace. This park, bordered by a boundary wall and intersected by long avenues, was designed by the French gardener Michael Benard in 1740.

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The hunting park, or estate, instead consisted of the vast area of almost 1,700 hectares which extended outside the fenced park and which had been expropriated by Duke Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia in 1563 to the Pallavicini. This area included land and woods included today in the municipalities of Nichelino, Orbassano and Candiolo.

Since 1992, woods and agricultural land surrounding Stupinigi have been preserved as the Parco naturale di Stupinigi. Included in the communal territories of Nichelino, Candiolo and Orbassano, it has an area of 17.32 km2 (6.7 sq mi) that includes a part of the region’s original lowland forest, where visitors can admire some rare plant species no longer widely found elsewhere. Wildlife includes beech martens, weasels, foxes, hazel dormouses, European hares, white storks, tree squirrels and others.

Hunting residence of Stupinigi
The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in northern Italy, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. Built as a royal hunting lodge in the early 18th century, it is located in Stupinigi, a suburb of the town of Nichelino, 10 km (6 mi) southwest of Turin

The original castle was owned by the Acaja line of the House of Savoy, Lords of Piedmont until 1418, and was sold to marquis Rolando Pallavicino in 1493. It was then acquired by Emmanuel Philibert in 1563, when the ducal capital was moved from Chambéry to Turin. The new palace was designed by the architect Filippo Juvarra to be used as a palazzina di caccia (“hunting lodge”) for Victor Amadeus II, King of Sardinia. Works started in 1729. Within two years construction was far enough advanced for the first formal hunt to take place.

Juvarra called upon a team of decorators, many of them from Venice, to carry out the decor of the palazzina interiors. In the reigns of Carlo Emanuele III and Victor Amadeus III the palazzina and its formal park continued to be extended, at first by Juvarra’s assistant, Giovanni Tommaso Prunotto, then by numerous North Italian architects, such as Ignazio Birago di Borgaro, Ludovico Bo, Ignazio Bertola and Benedetto Alfieri. The final building has a total of 137 rooms and 17 galleries, and covers 31,050 square meters. Polissena of Hesse-Rotenburg, wife of Carlo Emanuele III also carried out improvements. The original purpose of the hunting lodge is symbolized by the bronze stag perched at the apex of the stepped roof of its central dome, and the hounds’ heads that decorate the vases on the roofline. The building has a saltire plan: four angled wings project from the oval-shaped main hall.

The extensions resulted in separate pavilions linked by long angled galleries and a long octagonal forecourt enclosed by wings, extended forwards in two further entrance courts. Stupinigi was the preferred building to be used for celebrations and dynastic weddings by members of the House of Savoy. Here, in 1773, Maria Teresa, Princess of Savoy, married Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, brother of Louis XVI and the future Charles X of France.

Today the Palace of Stupinigi houses the Museo di Arte e Ammobiliamento, a museum of the arts and furnishings, some original to the palazzina, others brought from the former Savoia residences of Moncalieri and Venaria Reale. Stupinigi has the most important collection of Piedmontese furniture, including works by Turin’s three most famous Royal cabinet-makers, Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo, Pietro Piffetti and Luigi Prinotti. Some of the sculptures of hunting figures are by Giovanni Battista Bernero. Additionally, temporary exhibitions are held in its galleries, such as the Mostra del Barocco (1963).

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