Is the Venaria Royal Palace worth it?

Hello friends, here I am to share another experience I had in Turin and that I recommend to everyone even if let's say I was a little disappointed by certain things, but I will explain it to you better in this post. Today I bring you the discovery of the Reggia di Venaria, a very popular tourist destination for those who come to Turin.

The Royal Palace of Venaria is one of the most important Savoy residences in Piedmont, famous for its baroque architecture and gardens, and since 1997 it has been a UNESCO site, so it is highly recommended for everyone to visit. I had also seen many videos on various social media by various influencers, so I also wanted to go. To get there, you need to take a bus that leaves approximately every hour from Turin, because the palace is about 10 km from the centre of Turin, so you need to organise yourself a bit well, otherwise you can also take the train, because there is a train station that stops there.

It was designed by Amedeo di Castellamonte for Carlo Emanuele II as a hunting residence, and then in the following years it was enlarged and transformed by various architects including the famous Filippo Juvarra, so over the years it has become the symbol of the European Baroque, probably the best example of the European Baroque, but what did not really satisfy me was the visit route, it is true that it was recovered after a long restoration only in 2007, but it is also true that the beginning of the visit is made up only of information tables and there are only a few original furnishings or a few reconstructions that tell a little of the history of this place.

Of course, the best part and the most beautiful to see of the palace is definitely the large gallery, these 80 meters of very bright gallery where most people go there to take photos, this is because it has been seen by influencers, in reality there are other parts that in my opinion are more interesting than the Palace, such as the Squires' part where the various carriages that were used are located, including the famous bucintoro, this vessel that was made especially for the Savoy family.

As for the gardens, these too are much advertised, especially during the Cherry Blossom period, they didn't particularly impress me. It's true that most of the Italian garden is made up mostly of evergreen plants. However, in my opinion, a few flowers would have been nice because they would have given a nice colour and therefore would have changed the scenography of the Gardens a little, which seemed to me to be poorly cared for in some parts and also some of the fountains were a little dirty and not well cared for.

It is true that during the Napoleonic period, unfortunately, the Royal Palace was transformed into a barracks and the gardens were practically razed to the ground. But in the end, in my opinion, something more should be done to make this place even more beautiful. However, I recommend a visit even if you have to organize yourself well because unfortunately there are few buses that arrive here from Turin. Among other things, I also wanted to visit the Mandria castle which is located right nearby. But in the end, I couldn't do it because there wasn't this shuttle that took you from the Royal Palace of Venaria to the castle and it's a real shame because this way tourism isn't encouraged.

I hope, however, that you can still visit this place because it is quite worth it and because it is included in the Torino card, otherwise the entrance fee is around €18 which in my opinion is a fair price, see you in the next episode on Turin and I wish you all a good day.

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