“The astonishment is just around the corner”
Just 20 minutes by car or train from Cascina 6b is located a small Versailles: the Royal Residence of Venaria Reale, an ancient and glorious Savoy residence, in the heart of the city of Venaria Reale in the province of Turin, commissioned in the second half of the 1600s by Duke Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy who needed a base for his hunting expeditions in the moor hills of Turin.
A trip to the Reggia is perfect for a Sunday afternoon in which you want to combine culture with relaxation.
The site offers different services: a long walk in the English gardens, characterized by immense green lawns interspersed in paths with benches and fountains; a visit to the Savoy royal apartments for a dive into history among tools, furnitures and rich tapestries; as well as the vision of temporary and permanent exhibition itineraries and exhibitions, which host works by contemporary and non-contemporary authors.
The Royal Gardens
The outside of the Venaria Reale is breathtaking, as soon as you arrive at the back of the estate, from the top of the steps, you immediately come across the gardens, the resulting feeling of serenity is incredible; it makes you want to pay the ticket just to spend time on those white benches, reading a good book kissed by the sun, in the company of the swans of the lake.
The gardens and their structure represent the continuation of Via Mensa, the central road that crosses the historic center of Venaria Reale.
The Galleria Grande
Inside, among all the rooms, the most evocative is certainly the Galleria Grande, a long and bright corridor designed and built by the architect Filippo Juvarra, located in the visit route of the Piano Nobile.
The reference to the Mirror Gallery of the Palace of Versailles is strong, here the light masters the space. The marble floor, the stuccos and the forty-four windows give the entire eighty meters of the corridor (which connected the king’s apartments to those of the heir to the throne) a brightness all year round, even on dark rainy days.
La Giostra di Nina (The Carousel) by Valerio Berruti
Until May 2021, the Galleria Grande hosts an installation by the artist Valerio Berruti: La Giostra di Nina, the sculpture of an ancient carousel which plays the notes of Ludovico Einaudi‘s compositions. Instead of horses, the installation consists of swallows and each one reproduces a different moment of flight. The continuous movement of the machinery and the soft background music allow us to imagine the installations as a single bird that flies gracefully and repeatedly traces a concentric path.
La Cappella di Sant’Uberto (The Church of Saint Hubert)
Together with the Galleria Grande, the Church of St. Hubert is one of Juvarra’s masterpieces at the Royal Residence of Venaria. It was named after the patron saint of hunters as a reference to the hunting destination of the residence.
The architectural passages from the Church to the Residence were not finished by Juvarra but were completed by Benedetto Alfieri under Charles Emmanuel III. Alfieri also designed the monumental staircase leading up to the tribune of the Church.
Leaving the Royal Residence of Venaria Reale you can take a stroll along the pedestrian area of Via Andrea Mensa, an avenue full of shops, bars, and restaurants, ideal for relaxing, shopping and tasting an excellent hot chocolate or a good wine.
So, guests of Cascina 6b, here is another place not to be missed to enrich the heart and lighten the mind.
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