Palazzo Carignano
Encyclopedia
The Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin
, Italy, which currently houses the Museum of the Risorgimento
. It was once a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. It is famous for its unique rounded façade. It is located on the Via Accademia delle Scienze.
and his French wife Marie de Bourbon
. Construction started in 1679 when the Prince was 51 years of age.
The Prince commissioned the native Savoyard architect Guarino Guarini to design a suitable residence for the cadet house of the reigning House of Savoy
.
Guarini designed a vast structure in the shape of a square; he had a straight and restrained east facade created and a lavish and very unusual elliptical tower, slightly is withdrawn in facade, on the west. Guarini also added a large forecourt at the centre of the palace.
The decorations over the windows of the piano nobile
recall the campaign of the Carignano family with Carignan-Salières Regiment
against the Iroquois
in 1667. The interior has always been described as lavish.
The building, constructed in brick in a typical Baroque
style, has an elliptical center façade. This facade offers the only domestic project to make use of the undulating 'concave - convex - concave' rhythm established by Francesco Borromini
in the church of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.
The Palazzo was the birthplace of the future princesse de Lamballe in 1749 - confidant of Marie Antoinette
and for whom she lost her life for in 1792. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano was born there in 1770. It was also the birth place of the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II
in 1820.
From 1848 to 1861 the palace was used for the House of Deputies of the Subalpine Parliament. In 1861, with the creation of the parliament of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, the room became too small to host the House of Deputies, which was moved elsewhere.
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy, which currently houses the Museum of the Risorgimento
Museum of the Risorgimento (Turin)
The Museum of the Risorgimento is one of the museums in Italy dedicated to the Risorgimento. It is housed in the Palazzo Carignano in Turin.-History:...
. It was once a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. It is famous for its unique rounded façade. It is located on the Via Accademia delle Scienze.
History
The construction of the Palazzo Carignano was ordered by Emmanuel Philibert, son of Thomas Francis, Prince of CarignanoThomas Francis, Prince of Carignano
Thomas Francis of Savoy was an Italian military commander, the founder of the Savoy-Carignano branch of the House of Savoy which reigned as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the...
and his French wife Marie de Bourbon
Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons
Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons was the wife of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano.-Biography:Marie Marguerite de Bourbon was born at the Hôtel de Soissons in Paris, was the second daughter and youngest child of Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons and his wife Anne de Montafié...
. Construction started in 1679 when the Prince was 51 years of age.
The Prince commissioned the native Savoyard architect Guarino Guarini to design a suitable residence for the cadet house of the reigning 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...
.
Guarini designed a vast structure in the shape of a square; he had a straight and restrained east facade created and a lavish and very unusual elliptical tower, slightly is withdrawn in facade, on the west. Guarini also added a large forecourt at the centre of the palace.
The decorations over the windows of the piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
recall the campaign of the Carignano family with Carignan-Salières Regiment
Carignan-Salières Regiment
The Carignan-Salières Regiment was a Piedmont French military unit formed by merging the Carignan Regiment and the Salières Regiment in 1659. The regiment began their existence in combat against the Ottoman Empire before being reorganized to consist of twenty-four companies before being sent to...
against the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
in 1667. The interior has always been described as lavish.
The building, constructed in brick in a typical Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style, has an elliptical center façade. This facade offers the only domestic project to make use of the undulating 'concave - convex - concave' rhythm established by Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini, byname of Francesco Castelli was an architect from Ticino who, with his contemporaries, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture.A keen student of the architecture of Michelangelo and the ruins of...
in the church of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.
The Palazzo was the birthplace of the future princesse de Lamballe in 1749 - confidant of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
and for whom she lost her life for in 1792. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano was born there in 1770. It was also the birth place of the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
in 1820.
From 1848 to 1861 the palace was used for the House of Deputies of the Subalpine Parliament. In 1861, with the creation of the parliament of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, the room became too small to host the House of Deputies, which was moved elsewhere.