It is impossible to visit Torino without being confronted at some level with the Savoia. The history of Italy and the Casa di Savoia has been intertwined for the last thousand years. As one of our students described in her presentation, powerful families in medieval times were created when a less than scrupulous person amassed a fortune by thievery or other underhanded methods. When they had enough wealth, they would approach either the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor – not the same person - and buy their way to a title. The Savoia started in what is now Switzerland and gradually expanded their influence across the Alps and into what is now France and Italy by means of skillful diplomacy and carefully selected marriages. They eventually established Torino as their seat of power in the mid-16th century. They later consolidated their power as the Kingdom of Sardinia and ultimately the Kingdom of Italy. While Italy was unified under Garibaldi and Cavour beginning in 1861, it wasn’t until a century later that the Kingdom if Italy was finally put to rest. In fact, descendants of the Savoia are currently suing the government of Italy for the expenses incurred during a forced exile which ended only a few decades ago. One of them is also the host of a popular TV game show!
The Savoia envisioned Torino as a capital city in the grandest style of Europe. To that end, they undertook many improvements and building campaigns. The Piazza Castello is the main gathering spot in Torino. Named for the castle which stands on the site of original Roman towers, it is ringed by shops, the Palazzo Reale and the Palazzo Madama.
The cultural life of Torino is vibrant. The huge installation in front of the Palazzo Reale is testament to that in modern times while the statue of Remus (with the horse snorting out the moon courtesy of my creative skills) gives older evidence.
The Palazzo Madame is the original castle, refurbished in the 18th century for the mother-in-law of the then Duke. She had the front transformed into a grand Baroque loggia, or covered porch, but the work stopped there. Today you can visit a museum housed in the building.
You access it through a cavernous, sweeping stairway. When we were visiting, entrance was free.
The ornate rooms, complete with crystal chandeliers, now host extensive art exhibits.
They are hosting a temporary work by Robert Wilson through 6 January. Mounted on the walls are flat screen TV’s. Each of them has what appears at first glance to be a still life of a famous actor. But, when you look closer, you realize that there is motion. They blink, etc. In other words, these famous celebrities that you are watching are essentially watching you. Who is then really on display? I recognized Johnny Depp, McCaully Caulkin and Brad Pitt. While the Pitt one is fantastic (he stands through a downpour wearing only boxer shorts and holding a gun which he then points at you and fires – a steam of water, it is a water pistol) my favorite is Steve Buscemi. He has such unusual features how could you not be drawn to him and his side of beef?
The grandeur doesn’t stop there. A few kilometers outside of town is Stupinigi, the hunting lodge of the Savoia.
This thing is not your grandfather’s wooden cabin. It is Versailles. Scores of rooms, hundreds of acres of nature preserves and a stag on the cupola.
And then they light it up at night.
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