La Boutique Piemonteisa

Once a hunting lodge, it is now one of the most beautiful residences in Piedmont. The Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi is a the the the the the the the the hunting pal the King of the Belgians was the owner of. The palace was built by Victor Amadeus II of Savoy between 1729 and 1733 to the that of the architect Filippo Juvarra and is located in the that of Nichelino, 5 km from Turin. This palace is, in chronological order, the last of the extra-urban royal residences built by the House of Savoy.  The plan of the building consists of a large oval-shaped central hall from which four arms depart to form a St Andrew's cross. The architectural complex soars forward and encompasses a large octagonal courtyard, overlooked by various buildings. At the entrance to the building is the original statue of a deer made by sculptor Francesco Ladatte in 1766. In the flat of Benedetto Maria di Savoia, duke of Chiablese and son of Charles Emmanuel III, are the hall of mirrors, in Rococo style; t...

  We discover this town, in the context of the valley of the same name, on our way from the Po Valley to France. Susa , called the ‘Jewel of the Cottian Alps’, is a municipality in the province of Turin, located in the upper valley of the Dora Riparia and lies in the centre of the valley of the same name. A short distance from the confluence of the two roads of Moncenisio and Monginevro, it has been of great strategic importance since ancient times due to its position, with the name of Segusium , being also the capital of the Kingdom of the Cozii, the starting point of the Via Domizia, the Via Cozia and a stop along the Itinerarium Burdigalense and the Via Francigena. Moreover, it is not surprising that Susa was already flourishing in trade a few centuries before the Christian era, although it was only after the Roman conquest that it took on the connotations of a proper city, with a forum, thermal baths and a small amphitheatre, built in the 2nd century AD; the latter was disco...

  A brief snapshot of this fortress that was important in centuries past. The  Fenestrelle Fortress , popularly referred to as the ‘Armed Giant’, is a military stronghold built between 1727 and 1850 at Fenestrelle, in Val Chisone (Province of Turin), by order of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and designed by military engineer Ignazio Bertola to guard the French border. The fortress is made up of three forts: Fort S. Carlo, Fort delle Valli and Fort Tre Denti, connected by an underground staircase, known as the ‘Scala Coperta’ (Covered Staircase), with a total of about 4000 steps. There is also an external staircase, called the ‘Scala Reale’, consisting of 2,500 steps, which was used by the sovereign during his visits. The defensive structure is also referred to as the ‘Great Wall of Piedmont’ and is one of the most remarkable defensive structures in Piedmont, together with the Fort of Vinadio and the Fort of Exilles. The fortress is a set of fortified structures and consists, in a...

  We discover one of the symbols of Piedmont, which inspired the book ‘The Name of the Rose’. The Abbey of San Michele della Chiusa , known as Sacra di San Michele, is a grandiose complex located on the summit of Mount Pirchiriano at the entrance to the Susa Valley. The entire structure risked decay in the 17th century as a consequence of its suppression by order of Pope Gregory XV, urged by Maurice of Savoy, Cardinal Protector of France. Legend attributes its foundation to St. John Vincent upon the intervention, through a vision, of the Archangel Michael, but it appears that a small Lombard temple dedicated to St. Michael already existed on the same site. A shrine was erected in the 10th century by Hugon of Montboissier, a French nobleman. In the 12th century, an imposing extension was begun, marking the Benedictine abbey's heyday. After the 14th century, the complex suffered first a serious fire and then looting by Boson's English troops. Subsequently, the abbey was reduced ...