The Valentino Castle () is a historic building in the northwestern

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

city of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. It is located in Parco del Valentino, and is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of the

Polytechnic University of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban ...

. It is one of the

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy are a group of buildings in Turin and the Metropolitan City of Turin, in Piedmont, northern Italy. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997. History The House of Savoy is an ancient ro ...

included in the list of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in 1997.

History

The ancient castle was bought by Duke Emmanuel Philibert of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

on the advice of

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...

. The name ''Valentino'', first mentioned in 1275, seems to derive from a saint called Valentine whose relics were venerated in a church which stood nearby. The current structure is due to Princess Christine of France (1606–1663), wife of

Victor Amadeus I Victor Amadeus I (; 8 May 1587 – 7 October 1637) was the Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 26 July 1630 until his death in 1637. He was also known as the ''Lion of Susa''. He was succeeded by two of his sons; Francis Hya ...

, who dwelt here from 1630. Architect Carlo di Castellamonte renovated the construction substantially, with the help of his son

Amedeo Amedeo is an Italian theophoric given name meaning "lover of God", "loves God", or more correctly "for the love of God" and cognate to the Latin name Amadeus, the Spanish Amadeo, the Catalan and Portuguese Amadeu and the French Amédée. Peop ...

. Works started around 1633 and lasted until 1660. It has a horseshoe shape, with four rectangular towers, one at each angle, and a wide inner court with a marble pavement. The ceilings of the false upper floors are clearly in ''transalpino'' (i.e. French) style. The façade sports a huge coat of arms of the House of Savoy. Minor modifications were made in the early nineteenth century; at this time, too, much of the seventeenth-century furniture was carried off by French troops. For the next half century the palace was more or less abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair. Renovations were carried out in 1860 when it was selected as the seat of the engineering faculty of Turin; it has been further restored in recent years. In April 2024, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a conference at the castle. Security forces prevented the majority of protesters from entering, though one protester carrying a Palestinian flag did gain entry, and seven officers were injured during the incident. Prime Minister

Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Italy since 2022. She is the first woman to hold the office. A member of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies since 2006, s ...

condemned the protests. Today it is the central building of the Architecture faculty of the

. The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino, a historic

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

in the castle grounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castello Del Valentino Residences of the Royal House of Savoy Valentino Palaces in Turin Houses completed in 1660 1660 establishments in Italy Baroque architecture in Turin