La Mandria Regional Park is a park in the

Comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

Venaria Reale Venaria Reale () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Venaria Reale borders the municipalities of Robassomero, Caselle Torinese, Druento, Borgaro T ...

and

Druento Druento is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Druento is located in a hilly-plain territory, between the Givoletto mountains and the Turin plain. Attrac ...

, near Turin,

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. Founded in 1978 by the regional council of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, it occupies a wide area between the

Stura di Lanzo Stura di Lanzo () is a long river in north-western Italy (Piedmont), in the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is formed from several tributaries near Lanzo Torinese. It flows into the river Po in Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and ...

torrent and the north-western part of Turin and Venaria. It is the second largest enclosed park in Europe, with a surface of some 3,000 hectares, bounded by a 30 km long wall built in the mid-19th century by

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...

, who had moved to the castle here (the ''Borgo Castello'') the residence of his morganatic wife,

Rosa Vercellana Rosa Vercellana, 1st Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda (11 June 1833 – 26 December 1885), commonly known as 'Rosina' and, in Piedmontese, as La Bela Rosin, was the mistress and later wife of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy. Despite ...

. The park included one of the last relics of the large forest which once covered the whole

Po Plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic extension not actually related t ...

. Fauna includes

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s and

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

. The park has also breeds of horse races which are considered in risk of extinction. There are many accesses to the park: the gate of the avenue Bella Rosina, Fiano and the gates of Robassomero: Oslera Cascina, Cascina La Falchetta and Royal Park I Roveri, and of course those from Turin.

Borgo Castello

The existence of a building in the wood is documented since the 18th century, when

Victor Amadeus II Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King o ...

built here the stables of the nearby Royal

Palace of Venaria The Palace of Venaria () is a former royal residence and gardens located in Venaria Reale, near the city of Turin in the Piedmont region in northern Italy. It is one of the 14 Residences of the Royal House of Savoy built in the area between the 1 ...

, within a royal hunting reserve active since the 16th century.

Filippo Juvarra Filippo Juvarra (7 March 1678 – 31 January 1736) was an Italian architect, scenographer, engraver and goldsmith. He was active in a late-Baroque architecture style, working primarily in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Biography Juvarra was born ...

worked at the castle in the 1720s. In 1860 Victor Emmanuel ordered the enlargement of the village (designers included Ernesto Melano), turning it into a castle with a surface of 35,000 m². The new structure had a rectangular shape measuring 280 x 100 m with three internal courtyards. The King wanted here a private residence (not belonging to the royal estates) to live with his morganatic wife, Rosa Vercellana. An apartment was built for her family by Domenico Ferri. In 1861 the structure was expanded with the "Villa of the Lakes", a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

wing and a fountain of a sea horse fighting a triton by Vincenzo Vela. All the edifices, similarly to the

Palazzo Carignano Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy, which houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. Its rounded façade is different from other f ...

in Turin, are in brickwork. In 1997, the castle was placed on the

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

list along with 13 other residences of the House of Savoy. In the late 19th century La Mandria and its buildings were sold to the Medici del Vascello family. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a testing track owned by

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

, a golf court and a residential center were added. It became a regional estate in 1976.

References

Sources

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External links

Official website
{{Coord, 45, 08, 07, N, 7, 37, 31, E, type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Mandria Mandria Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Turin Metropolitan City of Turin Protected areas established in 1978 Venaria Reale