The Palace of Venaria – nicknamed The Italian Versailles – is a former royal residence located in Venaria Reale, near Turin, in northern Italy. Built between the seventeenth and nineteenth century, the regal site is now a fully-functioning tourist attraction boasting gardens, stables, a huge hunting lodge, a chapel, and galleries from the illustrious Savoy dynasty.
Commissioned by Duke Charles Emmanuel II and designed by Amedeo di Castellamonte, the baroque-era palace was abandoned late last century and stood in a state of disrepair until its reconstitution began in 1997 by UNESCO. The elaborate restoration lasted eight years.
According to La Presse, the palace proudly presents various cultural exhibitions, like Italian Genius, Art, Taste, Fashion and Leonardo the Genius, The Myth.
To best receive its deluge of annual visitors, the site undergoes diligent maintenance said to cost nearly 14 million euros each year. Half of this amount is said to come from private sources.
To learn more about Venaria and its host of entertaining, culturally-rich activities, visit www.lavenaria.it.