Parks and the outdoors in Turin

Parks and the outdoors in Turin

1. See

   Basilica of Superga

   This hilltop basilica was built in thanksgiving for the 1706 defeat of the French at Turin. Often incorrectly called a cathedral, it's in sort-of-classical-with-baroque style, and houses the tombs of many nobles of the House of Savoy. Superga hill derives its name from Serrapergia meaning "mountain between the hills". Nearby is a monument to the air crash of 1949, which wiped out Torino FC. Get here by car, bus, rack-railway, or the hiking trails, but the approach road is narrow with no sidewalk so it is not safe for walking.

   Daily 10:00-13:00, 14:30-17:00·Free

2. See

   Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

   Art exhibition gallery in a former automobile factory and outdoor sculpture park.

   Thu 20:00-23:00, Fri-Sun 12:00-19:00·Adult €7, conc €5

3. See

   La Mandria

   The "hunting lodge" grew into such a vast palace that what was needed was a new hunting lodge. However, King Victor Emmanuel II needed somewhere to ensconce his mistress La Bela Rosin, so this new lodge in turn became so big and blinged up that... life can be really tough when you're a plutocrat monarch. Wild boar, deer and rare breeds of horse roam the park, which has multiple access points. In the 20th century it acquired a golf course and a motor-racing track.

   Tue-Sun 10:00-16:00·Adult €8 or combi-ticket with Venaria

4. See

   La Venaria Reale

   Built as a royal hunting lodge from 1675, this grew and grew into a humonguous bling palace, trying to outshine Versailles. It became a barracks and was knocked about in Napoleonic times, remaining military until the 1930s, then the vandals set about it. Restoration was piecemeal until 1996, then a ten-year project brought it back to its former baroque opulence. Highlights include the Salone di Diana, the Galleria Grande, the chapel of Sant’Uberto and the Scuderie (stables). The Gardens are a modern re-imagining. The palace was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

   Tue-Fri 09:30-17:00, Sat Sun 09:30-18:30·Adult €20, conc €16, under-22 €10

5. See

   Museo Egizio

   "The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin" said Egyptologist Jean-François Champollion about Museo Egizio in Turin, second only in order of importance to the one in Cairo. Many artifacts were collected by Bernardino Drovetti (1776 - 1852) when he was consul of France in Egypt. In 1824, King Carlo Felice di Savoia purchased the diplomat's entire collection and housed it in the palace built in the 17th century by design of architect Michelangelo Garove (which was firstly Collegio dei Nobili, then seat of Accademia delle Scienze and still houses the museum). The visit begins with floor -1 hypogeous with History of the Museum (highlights - Mensa Isiaca, statue of Isis from Coptos, Iuefankh's Book of the Dead); taking the escalator we reach floor 2 with Material Culture Galleries, Predynastic, Old Kingdom, Textiles Gallery, Tomb of the Unknown (intact), Tomb of Iti and Neferu, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom (highlights - Gebelein Canvas, pleated tunics, faience hippo statuette, statue of Aanen, statue of Hel); taking Sanpaolesi staircase we reach floor 3 with Writing Gallery (highlights - double cartouche from Temple of the Aten, Papyrus of Kings, Judicial Papyrus, pyramidion from the Tomb of Ramose); returning to floor 2, then descending Mazzucchetti staircase we reach floor 1 with Village of Deir el-Medina, In Search of Life (human remains), Egyptian Gardens (on the terrace), Tomb of Kha and Merit (intact), Coffin Gallery, Valley of the Queens, Late Period, Ptolemaic Period, Roman and Late Antique Period (highlights - statue of Pendua and Nefertari, Erotic-Satirical Papyrus, Maya Chapel, Butehamon Coffin, animal mummies, amulets); the visit ends taking Mazzucchetti staircase to floor 0 with Gallery of Kings and Temple of Ellesiya (highlights - statues of Ramses II, Sethi II, Tutmosis III, Sekhmet). Analog services: cloakroom (floor -1 hypogeous), rest area "Caffè con ME" (reached from Room 7), museum shop (floor -1 hypogeous), kids area "Spazio ZeroSei Egizio"

   Mon 09:00-14:00; Tue-Sun 09:00-18:30·Ticket online (suggested)

6. See

   Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi

   Royal hunting lodge built from 1729, and like Veneria Reale its embellishments then got out of hand to create something a Disney princess would swoon over, grand halls and galleries and salons with putti and nymphs in industrial quantities. It houses a huge collection of Piedmontese furniture in its Rococo interiors. Outside is the Parco naturale, the hunting park and gardens, but Fritz the resident elephant has long gone.

   Tue-Fri 10:00-17:30, Sat Sun 10:00-18:30·Adult €13.80, conc €9.50

7. See

   Palazzo Reale

   The Palace was built in the 16th century, modernised in the 17th and converted to a museum in 1946. The result is a wacky hybrid of medieval, baroque and bling. You enter via the palace gardens to reach the ticket office. The ticket covers five attractions: - Galleria Sabauda houses the vast art collection of the rulers of Savoy. - Chapel of the Shroud is accessed this way, and from a gallery looks into the Cathedral. - Royal Apartments: gilt, red flock, chandeliers, vast paintings, and everything else to impress. - Royal Armoury: dating from the 16th century, the 1833 collection of Sardinian king Carlo Alberto. - Royal Library: this contains some 200,000 print volumes, 4500 manuscripts, 3055 drawings, 187 incunabula predating 1501, 5019 16th-century books, 20,987 pamphlets, 1500 works on parchment, 1112 periodicals, and 400 photo albums, maps, engravings, and prints. It contains several works Leonardo da Vinci's: Codex on the Flight of Birds, his self-portrait, his study for the angel in his Virgin of the Rocks and his study for the angel in Verrocchio's The Baptism of Christ.

   Tue-Sun 09:00-19:00·Adult €15

8. See

   Villa della Regina

   A royal palace and gardens on a hill east edge of the city. It's modest by Savoyard standards but plush with Chinese and Baroque interiors. This reflects the era of Anne Marie d'Orléans, in residence from 1692. Next to the Villa, the Queen's vineyard has been productive since the 1600s, and its "Freisa di Chieri DOC - Villa della Regina" red wine is on sale here.

   Tue-Sun 09:30-12:00, 14:30-17:00·Adults €7, age 18-25 €2

9. See Not mapped

   Santa Maria di Monte dei Cappuccini

   A late-Renaissance-style church on a hill overlooking the River Po. It was built 1583 to 1656 for the Capuchin Friars; the delay was through plague and the occasional war. A miracle supposedly occurred in 1640 during the French assault on Turin, when troops seizing the church were repulsed by a sheet of holy flame from the tabernacle. They slew all the defenders anyhow, no doubt in a faith-affirming sort of way. Cannonballs stuck in the walls recall the assaults of 1706 and 1799.

   Daily 07:30-19:30·Free

10. See Not mapped

    Botanic Museum

    Small collection and somewhat run down.

    Apr-Oct: Sat 14:30-18:00, Sun 10:00-13:00, 14:30-18:00·Adult €5, conc or child €3

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Turin (CC BY-SA 4.0).