Castle of Rivoli
Encyclopedia
The Castle of Rivoli is a former Residence of the Royal House of Savoy
Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy is a group of structures in Turin and its province, in Piedmont . Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997, it includes the following patrimonies:-Residences:*In Turin:...

 in Rivoli
Rivoli (Italy)
Rivoli , is a comune established around the 1st century CE, in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 14 km west of Turin...

 (province of Turin
Province of Turin
The Province of Turin is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin.It has an area of 6,830 km², and a total population of 2,277,686 . There are 315 comuni in the province – the most of any province in Italy...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

). It is currently home to the Castello di Rivoli - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, the museum of contemporary art of Turin.

History

The castle was probably built in the 9th-10th centuries, but its existence is mentioned for the first time only in 1159, in a diplom by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa that ceded the Rivolese territories to the bishops of Turin
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Turin
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Turin is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. Founded in the 4th century and elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 21 May 1515, by Pope Leo X. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist...

.

The House of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

 acquired Rivoli in the 11th century, and soon began a feud with the bishops that as soon as 1184 provoked damage to the castle. In 1330 Amadeus VI of Savoy moved in the castle the Consiglio dei Principi, senior administrative council of the countryside. The castle was also the first place of public veneration of the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...

 in his path towards Turin under Amadeus IX.

After a period of decline, the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) established that Duke Emmanuel Philibert
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580....

 could not reside in Turin until he had not a male child. He therefore set his residencei in the Castle of Rivoli, having it restored by architect Ascanio Vitozzi
Ascanio Vitozzi
Ascanio Vitozzi was an Italian soldier, architect and military engineer....

. In 1562 heir Charles Emmanuel I
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I , known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630...

 was born, and he returned to Turin. Works on Vittozzi's designed were brought on until 1644 under Carlo
Carlo di Castellamonte
Carlo di Castellamonte was an Italian architect, civil and military engineer, one of the main exponents of Piedmontese Baroque.Castellamonte was born in Turin. After his studies in Rome, he returned in Piedmont where was assistant to Ascanio Vitozzi...

 and Amedeo di Castellamonte
Amedeo di Castellamonte
Amedeo di Castellamonte was an Italian architect, civil and military engineer.-Biography:He was born in Castellamonte...

, with the construction of the so called Manica Lunga, intended to house the Savoy Gallery, the sole 17th century part of the edifice still visible today. Numerous of the works of art were however stolen by French troops in the following years. New works began after 1706.

Victor Amadeus II commissioned a new façade to Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra was an Italian architect and stage set designer.-Biography:Filippo Juvarra was an Italian Baroque architect working in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, to a family of goldsmiths and engravers...

, but again it remained unfinished. Victor Amadeus lived here as a prisoner with his morganatic spouse
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...

 the Marchesa di Spigno after his abdication and his failed attempt to regain the reign from his son Charles Emmanuel III
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel III was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death.-Biography:...

. After his death, the castle was mostly abandoned, and in 1863 the commune of Rivoli turned into barracks, while twenty years later a section was used as library.

The edifice was heavily damaged during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and remained in a substantial state of abandon until 1979, when new works of restoration were begun. In 1984 the castle was reopened as seat of the Museo di Arte Contemporanea (Contemporary Art Museum), one of the most known in Europe.

External links

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