The system of the Savoy Residences originated in 1563 when the Duke of Savoy, Emanuele Filiberto, made Turin the capital of the duchy and decided to start a project for the overall reorganization of the territory with the aim of celebrating the absolute power of the ruling house. His successors, between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, carried out the program with the organization of the "Command Zone" in the city center and the creation of a system of maisons de plaisance, the "Crown of Delights", through the re-functionalization of pre-existing residences and the construction of new buildings, intended for the hunting practice and leisure of the court.
The unitary character of the complex of buildings, which represent a complete panorama of European monumental architecture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, is given by the stylistic homogeneity due to the group of architects and court artists operating in a widespread manner in the residences and government buildings (between these also Filippo Juvarra, Benedetto Alfieri, Claudio Francesco Beaumont).
The serial site is made up of 22 buildings, 11 located in the center of Turin, the others distributed according to a radio-centric system around the city.
The “CROWN OF DELIGHTS” is a system of suburban residences dedicated to leisure, parties and hunting which, spreading out in a radial pattern around Turin, underline the central role of the capital. The residences include: Valentino Castle, Villa della Regina, Moncalieri Castle, Rivoli Castle, Venaria Reale Castle, Stupinigi Hunting Lodge, Agliè Castle, Borgo Castello de La Mandria, Castello di Racconigi, Castello and Agenzia di Pollenzo, the Castello di Govone.
HISTORY OF THE RIVOLI CASTLE
The Castello di Rivoli was built on the remains of a medieval castle dating back to exactly the 11th century, the initial project was by Juvarra for Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy.
Property of the Bishops of Turin, the Castle became part of the Savoy dominions in 1247, and would follow the fate of the dynasty until 1883, when it was sold to the City of Rivoli.
When Emanuele Filiberto chose Turin as the new capital of the Duchy, since the city was still in French hands, he settled with his court in Rivoli and his heir Carlo Emanuele was born in the Castle on January 12, 1559, under the care and good auspices of Nostradamus, summoned to follow the pregnancy of the Duchess Margaret of Valois. For this reason the building was modernized by the architects Francesco Paciotto and Domenico Ponsello.
The new Duke Carlo Emanuele I commissioned the architects Castellamonte, father and son, to transform the ancient medieval manor into a residence of leisure. The construction site will be completed in 1670. From that period, the only example remains today the room of Amedeo VIII, on the second floor, the only one that survived after the passage of the French troops of Marshal Catinat, who set the building on fire in 1690 and in 1693.
The young duke, Vittorio Amedeo II, promised himself to rebuild and make even more beautiful that residence so closely linked to the history of the Savoy and much loved by him.
It will be with Filippo Juvarra, who arrived in Turin in 1715, to take shape, starting from the work of Garove, who died in the meantime, the grandiose project of the palace, a new symbol of the absolute power of Vittorio Amedeo II, who became king of Sicily.
Other interventions, albeit scarce and insufficient, were then carried out in 1793; then, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the palace began to become too great a burden for the Savoy and was rented to the Municipality of Rivoli which later bought it entirely.
The castle served as accommodation for military garrisons, losing most of the furnishings due to various military occupations and various fires.
It was only in 1978 that the building was finally able to take advantage of an impressive renovation work, mixing the original structures with structures made of modern material.
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