Palazzo Madama (Turin)

Palazzo Madama

The back of the palace

The Palazzo Madama in Turin is a representative city palace that served as the residence of the rulers of Savoy . It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Residences of the House of Savoy and is now home to an art museum.

history

The palace is located on the territory of the ancient Roman city of Augusta Taurinorum , whose city gate, the Porta Decumana from 45 BC. BC , is integrated into the current building. Duke Filippo of Savoy included the two towers of the city gate (they are no longer visible today due to the later extensions) when building a fortress. Similar to Pavia or Milan, the castello was located on the edge of the ruled city for strategic reasons (just as the citadel was later positioned on the opposite edge of the former city square). From 1402 to 1415 the building was enlarged under Filippo's successor Ludovico and equipped with the eastern brick towers. In the 17th century, Maria Cristina of France , known as Madama Reale , chose the palace as her preferred residence and from 1638 had it expanded like a castle. Since then it has been called Palazzo Madama . The vaulting of the inner courtyard dates from this time.

In the 18th century the palace was rebuilt again and received the current city-side facade and the representative staircase. In 1848 it became the seat of the Senato del Regno . Between 1883 and 1885 the three medieval sides of the palace were thoroughly restored in the spirit of historicism under the direction of Alfredo d'Andrade . Today's image is determined by Andrades ideas and his restoration measures, for which he had 30,000 special bricks burned. The palace has been used as a museum since 1934.

architecture

From 1718 to 1721 the wing on the facade was thoroughly redesigned according to the design of the Turin court architect Filippo Juvarra in the spirit of baroque representational architecture . The client was the regent Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy , widow of Duke Carlo Emanuele II, who died at an early age .

The facade was built from the ivory-colored limestone of the Susa Valley , which underlines the transparency of the architecture with its light and translucent effect. It is clearly inspired by the garden facade of the palace in Versailles : the rusticated plinth, the large arched windows of the piano nobile with their balustrades in front of them, above the mezzanine floor , which is like a portico in front of the straight line of the facade, all of which is known from France Here, however, due to the reduction of the French model, it is less determined by the horizontal effect there, and is also modeled more vividly. Four reliefs with trophies frame the three portals, each of which is decorated with powerful lion heads as keystones. The building is crowned by a balustrade with vases and four allegorical figures on the attic , which embody power, prosperity, fertility and justice. The building owner's monogram MJB is used extensively in building decoration. The sculptural works are by Giovanni Baratta .

Staircase of Juvarra in the Palazzo Madama

The interior goes back more strongly to Italian traditions of sculptural architecture. The staircase, which is impressive for its size and double-flight system, is famous; with a ceiling height of 25 m and a length of around 50 m, it extends over almost the entire width of the building. Juvarra had placed it with its generous windowing in front of the 17th century front so that its abundance of light also illuminates the rooms behind the former facade. The two runs flow into the piano nobile on a common central platform, from which three entrances lead into the ballroom above the inner courtyard, which has been closed since the 17th century.

museum

The palace has been the seat of the Museo Civico d'Artica since 1934 . It houses a collection of medieval sculptures and paintings, the Turin-Milan Book of Hours (usually not on display) and an arts and crafts department with glass, porcelain and ceramics from different eras.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Schomann, p. 433.
2. ^ Rudolf Wittkower: Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750 Harmondsworth 2nd ed. 1965, p. 276.

literature

• Heinz Schomann: Piedmont, Liguria, Aosta Valley. Art monuments and museums , (Reclams Art Guide Vol. 1, 2) Stuttgart: Reclam, 1982, pp. 433-436 (with floor plan).

Web links

Commons : Palazzo Madama (Turin)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description at Archeocarta (Italian)

Coordinates: 45 ° 4 '15.4 "  N , 7 ° 41' 8.8"  E