Palazzo Madama – Museo Civico d’Arte Antica di Torino

Located in the heart of Turin, Palazzo Madama is one of the most representative monumental buildings in Piedmont and encapsulates the entire history of the city. From Roman gate is transformed in the Middle Ages into fortress, then in the castle of the princes of Achaia, up to the realisation, in the 18th century, of the majestic Baroque façade by Filippo Juvarra.

The name of the palace derives from the two Madame Royals who inhabited it: Christina of France (1606-1663) e Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy Nemours (1644-1724), both regents of the Duchy of Savoy after the death of their respective husbands.

From 1934 the building houses the City Museum of Ancient Art, which retains a permanent collection of over 70,000 works dating from the early Middle Ages to the Baroque: paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, majolica, porcelain, gold, silver, furniture and textiles.

The tour route is developed on four floors in a fascinating journey through time:

• at moat you admire the arts of the Middle Ages, with stone sculptures, mosaics, jewellery and access to the Medieval garden;
• at ground floor are exhibited the arts from the 14th century to the Renaissance;
• at foreground, in the baroque halls, the arts of the 17th and 18th centuries with the picture gallery and sumptuous decorations of the royal flats;
• at second floor, a rich collection of decorative arts from all eras.

From panoramic tower one can finally admire Turin with a 360-degree view.

From 1861 to 1865, Palazzo Madama fu seat of the first Senate of the Kingdom of Italy.
In 1997, the architectural complex has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.