Castello Ducale di Agliè

About the museum

The castle was built from the 1640s onwards on the remains of a 12th-century castle, at the wish of Count Filippo San Martino d'Agliè. Part of this phase is the Salone d'onore, entirely frescoed by Giovanni Paolo Recchi and his workshop with the medieval events of Arduin of Ivrea, ancestor of the San Martino family.

In 1764 King Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy bought it for his son Benedetto Maria Maurizio, Duke of Chiablese. Over about a decade the architect Ignazio Birago di Borgaro remodelled the complex, integrating it with the village, the new square and the parish church, connected to the castle by a covered gallery; the park was redesigned in the French style by Michel Benard, with the Fontana dei Fiumi and a circular lake at the end of the main axis. After the Napoleonic period the castle returned to the Savoy in 1823 and was modernised for Charles Felix and Maria Cristina of Bourbon, who enriched its collections; the queen, a passionate archaeologist, gathered there finds from her excavations in Lazio, particularly in the Sala Tuscolana.

Duke Tomaso of Savoy-Genoa added ethnographic and Oriental art objects collected on a diplomatic journey to Asia. Sold to the State in 1939, the castle was destined to become a “museum of itself” and still preserves all its furnishings. The complex includes over three hundred rooms, a garden and a large park.

Highlights

• Salone d'onore frescoed by Giovanni Paolo Recchi and his workshop
• Appartamento di Rappresentanza and Appartamento Chierici
• Sala delle cacce with stucco trophies by Giuseppe Bolina
• Sala Tuscolana with the archaeological finds of Maria Cristina of Bourbon
• Collections of ethnographic and Oriental art of Duke Tomaso
• Garden, park and Fontana dei Fiumi with the sculpture groups by the Collino brothers

Permanent exhibitions

• Appartamento di Rappresentanza e Appartamento Chierici – Route through the furnished rooms of the castle, with the Salone d'onore, the Galleria alle Tribune and the art, archaeological and ethnographic collections.
• Giardino e parco – Italian-style garden and large park with centuries-old trees, a circular lake and the Fontana dei Fiumi.

Operated by

Ministero della Cultura – Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Piemonte (Residenze Reali Sabaude)

Admission & discounts

The castle ticket can be bought online at museiitaliani.it, with the Musei Italiani app or at the ticket office; without online purchase entry is not guaranteed. Payment at the ticket office in cash or by POS. Free admission also for teachers, holders of the Abbonamento Musei, the Torino+Piemonte Card and the Royal Pass, ICOM members, journalists, tourist guides and holders of the Passaporto Culturale “Nati con la Cultura”. Park and gardens are free for residents of Agliè, with ID.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The main entrance has a stone ramp that overcomes three steps; the door is 1.2 metres wide.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By car from the A5 motorway: San Giorgio Canavese exit, then towards Agliè. Nearest airport: Torino Caselle.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop: not available
• Coat check: not available

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit