The splendid 17th-century villa located on the hill of Turin is now part of the UNESCO heritage circuit of the Savoy Residences in Piedmont.
The project for its construction was studied by the architect Ascanio Vitozzi around 1615, commissioned by Cardinal Maurizio di Savoia, brother of Duke Vittorio Amedeo I, who wanted a sumptuous villa with large Italian gardens, vegetable gardens, vineyards and woods. After Vitozzi's death in the same year, the construction of the villa was entrusted to the Castellamonte brothers, who chose the model of the great villas in Lazio, such as Villa d'Este in Tivoli.
The complex initially took the name of "Villa del Cardinale" and became the residence of Maurizio di Savoia who, after abandoning the cardinal's purple, married his young niece Luisa Cristina, known as Ludovica. The former cardinal used to organise meetings of academics and intellectuals in the villa and soon founded the Accademia dei Solinghi with participants of the calibre of E. Tesauro and Pope Innocent X. When her husband died in 1657, Ludovica decided to change the name of the residence to 'Villa Ludovica' and commissioned several extensions and decorations. When she died in 1692, the entire complex was inherited by her cousin Anne Marie d'Orléans, wife of Victor Amadeus II, and therefore the first queen of the Kingdom of Savoy, who entrusted the redesign of the complex, first to Carlo Emanuele Lanfranchi and then to the famous Juvarra, who was able to enrich both the exteriors and the interiors with precious decorations in line with the taste of the time. Juvarra was responsible for the creation of the Hall of Honour, which connected the King's flats with those of the Queen.
Anna Marià d'Orléans was succeeded by other queens during the 18th century, including Polissena of Hesse-Rheinfels Rotenburg and Elisabeth Theresa of Lorraine, respectively the second and third wife of Charles Emmanuel III, but also Maria Antonia of Spain, wife of Victor Amadeus III. This succession of queens gave the marvellous complex the name Villa della Regina.
During the French occupation, at the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon also stayed there, who kept the villa as his residence, unlike the Reggia di Venaria, which was transformed into a barracks and therefore heavily damaged. In 1869 the complex was donated by Victor Emmanuel II to the National Institute of the Daughters of the Officers who fought in the Wars of Independence, and became a school.
Unfortunately the complex was badly damaged by the world wars; the building adjacent to the villa and known as Palazzo del Chiablese was destroyed by bombing, as was the villa's splendid frescoed vault. The subsequent period of abandonment lasted until 1994, when the Superintendence for Artistic and Historical Heritage of Piedmont took over and began restoration work and planted a new Fresia vine, the first harvest of which took place in 2008.
Today the Villa is open to visitors and one can admire the splendid Italian gardens with the Solinghi pavilion as well as the splendid Chinese Cabinets in lacquered and gilded wood and various paintings by artists of the calibre of Seiter and Crostato.
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Credit Image: Soggiorni d'Autore
