Castello Reale di Racconigi

About the museum

The Castle of Racconigi is one of the best-known residences of the House of Savoy and since 1997 has been part of the UNESCO site of the Savoy Residences. Born as a medieval fortified structure, in the mid-17th century it became the property of the cadet branch of the Savoy-Carignano and was transformed into a villa for leisure and hunting. The architect Guarino Guarini designed the north façade towards the park and created the central hall from the space of the inner courtyard. In the second half of the 18th century Giovanni Battista Borra introduced Neoclassical adjustments, including the south façade with the monumental staircase and the pronaos.

The present appearance is due above all to Charles Albert, who from 1832 made it the seat of the royal family’s summer holidays. The architect Ernesto Melano designed two new wings to the east and west, while Pelagio Palagi designed the interior decoration, which emphasises the private character of the king’s home. The castle was frequented by the descendants of the House of Savoy until 1946, and in 1980 it was bought by the State together with the park.

To the north opens a park of about 170 hectares, laid out in the 17th century and then reworked according to the geometric rigour of André Le Nôtre. In the 18th century it was transformed into a picturesque garden, and in the 19th century it was completed in the Romantic style by the landscape designer Xavier Kurten, with the neo-Gothic farmhouse of the Margaria, the royal greenhouses (Serre reali) and the garden known as the Giardino dei Principini.

Highlights

• Royal apartments with the 19th-century decorations by Pelagio Palagi
• Central hall and north façade by Guarino Guarini
• Route “Vita privata di un re” (The Private Life of a King)
• Romantic park of about 170 hectares
• Neo-Gothic Margaria farmhouse and royal greenhouses
• Route through the 20th-century rooms on the second floor

Permanent exhibitions

• Appartamenti reali del Castello – Route through the 19th-century rooms decorated by Pelagio Palagi, the summer residence of the royal Savoy family.
• Vita privata di un re – Thematic route at a dedicated rate, which tells the private side of the castle as the king’s home.

Operated by

Ministero della Cultura – Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Piemonte

Admission & discounts

For individual visitors the castle ticket should be bought online at museiitaliani.it or with the Musei Italiani app; without an online ticket, access is not guaranteed. Also free for holders of the Abbonamento Musei, the Torino+Piemonte Card and the Royal Pass, and for staff of the Ministero della Cultura. On free-admission Sundays, a delay of more than 10 minutes forfeits the right to access the castle.

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