Valentino Castle

The Castello del Valentino is a former ducal residence in Turin within the Parco del Valentino on the left bank of the Po . Today it is the seat of the Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico di Torino .

history

The origin of the name is not clear. It was first mentioned in documents from 1275. Presumably it refers to the St. Vitus Church , which once stood near the park , which housed the relics of St. Valentine of Terni .

The original building was acquired by Duke Emanuel Philibert of Savoy on the advice of Andrea Palladio . Before that it served as the residence of various noble families.

The castle owes its current shape to the Duchess Christina of France , a daughter of King Henri IV and wife of Duke Viktor Amadeus I of Savoy, who died in 1637. The work, which lasted from 1633 to 1660, was carried out according to plans by Carlo Castellamonte and his son Amadeo, who were also responsible for the uniform urban appearance of Turin, which developed early on. In line with Christina's French origins, the new building also has peculiarities of contemporary French architecture: the floor plan around a cour d'honneur (the horseshoe-shaped courtyard), the tower-like corner pavilions and the steep roofs with gable dormers. A large Savoy coat of arms is emblazoned on a gable above the central entrance.

In addition to the Palazzo Madama as the official residence in the center of Turin, the palace, which at that time was still in front of the city walls in a princely hunting ground, served as a private pleasure palace. In the 19th century, some changes were made to its architectural design and its connection to the city, but most of the precious baroque furnishings were looted by Napoleonic soldiers and brought to France.

In the following years the castle fell into disrepair. It is thanks to this neglect that the frescoes and friezes in its interior have largely been preserved in their historical state from the 17th century. In 1860, the Technical University decided on the Castello del Valentino as the new location, so that the castle was renovated and restored to its former glory. On May 12, 2007 the central zodiac room (Sala dello Zodiaco) was reopened, the ceiling fresco of which shows a personification of the Po, endowed with attributes of the sea god .

In the 55 hectare Parco del Valentino, a popular leisure place of the Turins, which stretches along the banks of the Po, is also the Orto Botanico , the botanical garden of the university, as well as the Borgo medievale , a "medieval" style for a large one Exhibition of the village built in 1884 with a “knight's castle”.

literature

Sonja Dümpelmann: The Parco Valentino in Turin. Example of an Italian city park from the second half of the 19th century . In: Die Gartenkunst 11 (1/1999), pp. 81–94.

Web links

Commons : Castello del Valentino (Turin) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

45.054333333333 7.6855277777778Coordinates: 45 ° 3 ′ 15.6 ″ N , 7 ° 41 ′ 7.9 ″ E