Royal Palace, the ancient Savoy rooms, the Royal Libraries: a trip to Turin, to discover the Baroque style and the sacred cloth
What comes to your mind if I talk to you about Torino? Probably bagna cauda or chocolate, the Egyptian Museum, the Mole Antonelliana, certainly these are the elements that characterize this great city, but there is more. If you have never been to Turin, or if you have also been there but you have never had the opportunity to go there, I recommend you to visit the Chapel of the Shroud, which was reopened after a restoration lasting about twenty years, due to a large fire that had damaged the entire supporting structure.
History of the Holy Shroud
This place is not only important for the baroque style of the city, but also and above all for what it kept and still preserves, that is the sacred cloth, a very important symbol for Christian religious. This chapel is part of the exhibition of the Royal Museums, ancient historical residence of the royal family of Turin, named UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, consisting of the Royal Gardens, the Royal Armory, the Royal Library, the Sabauda Gallery, the Royal Palace and the Archaeological Museum, an integral part of the history of the city of Turin and its ancient masters: the Savoy.
Visit to the Holy Shroud and the Royal Palace
I went to the reopening of the Chapel of the Shroud because I had never been there, when the fire occurred I was quite small, so I decided to go there on a Sunday because, I admit, I was very curious.
It is accessed by entering the Royal Palace, you cross what were the ancient rooms of the Savoy, simply to take your breath away in my opinion, in which you can admire all the elements of the Baroque, up to this small but particular Chapel, characterized by the dome designed by the famous Guarino Guarini, which from the inside - by optical illusion - seems higher than the reality, with an imposing Baroque altar in the center that once served to preserve the Shroud.
The rest of the route consists of the Royal Palace, as mentioned before, characterized by the throne room and the dining rooms in pure Baroque style, by the Royal Library, which preserves the oldest texts from different historical periods, theRoyal Armory, with its armor and weapons used by the Savoy, the archaeological Museum, very interesting since it was founded with the aim of hosting the works belonging to the royal family, but over time it has gathered in it works from all over Europe, and finally the magnificent Sabauda Gallery, which for me who am passionate about art is really a gem not to be missed. Here you can find paintings dating back to the fifteenth century of different foreign artistic schools of the time, which mix with our Italian painters.
If you don't own the Piedmont Museums Card, the one that allows you to visit many tourist attractions for free (which I highly recommend), you can take advantage of the first Sunday of each month, in which museums in Turin are free for everyone.
In particular, if you go to this place in a fairly spring or generally hot season, I recommend you relax in the Royal Gardens, exactly opposite the Duomo and the Chapel of the Shroud: they are very particular gardens, where I myself often relax by reading a book or simply taking a walk.
