Stupinigi Hunting Lodge

Submitted by Adrian Petersen on Mon, 2011-05-30 08:24

In Piedmont Turin Surroundings Turin Art and Culture Families and kids Nature and Outdoors

Situated just outside Turin, in Italy’s northwest, Piedmont’s “Residences of the Royal House of Savoy” were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. Among this extraordinary group of palaces and castles, the Stupinigi Hunting Lodge is well worth a look when visiting the region.

The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (Stupingi Hunting Lodge) is a spectacular hunting lodge built on the site of a medieval castlein Stupinigi, a suburb of Nichelino, 10 km southwest of Turin.

Vittorio Amedeo II commissioned Turin's greatest architect, Filippo Juvarra, to build him a hunting lodge in a palatial style. Building work started in 1729 and within two years the lodge was ready to play host to its first hunt. This white baroque palace is star shaped with an elliptical central hall and four wings spread out like the cross of St. Andrew. Outside the copper dome is decorated with a sculpture of a stag by Francesco Ladatte.

Ownership of the Palazzina passed to the Royal family in 1832, the state in 1919 and to the Order of Ss Maurice and Lazarus in 1925 which retains it to this day. Since 1919, the Lodge has housed the Museo di Arte e Ammobiliamento (Museum of Art and Furnishing) with furniture, paintings and objects d'art from the Lodge and other Savoy residences.

Surrounded by a beautiful park, the Parco Naturale di Stupinigi, the area was declared a nature reserve in 1991 and is a haven for wildlife and rare plants. Today Stupingi is listed as a “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO, and is a frequent venue for concerts, conferences and exhibitions.

Share |