Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea

About the museum

The hill of Rivoli, along the Strada delle Gallie, was almost certainly inhabited already in Roman times; the first reference to a fortified building, the Castrum Riuollum, dates from 1159. The castle, which belonged to the bishops of Turin, passed to the Savoy in 1247 and remained theirs until 1883. In the 17th century it became a place of leisure, and the Manica Lunga (Long Wing), intended for the ducal picture gallery, was completed in 1670.

French troops devastated the building in 1690 and 1693. Vittorio Amedeo II entrusted the rebuilding to Filippo Juvarra, who imagined a great palace, but the work stopped in 1734 because of the high costs, leaving the atrium unfinished. After the Napoleonic period the castle was used by the army, passed to the Città di Rivoli in 1883 and suffered serious damage during the Second World War.

In the 1960s and 1970s the complex was in severe decay, with a collapse in 1978. The Piedmont Region obtained its management, and the architect Andrea Bruno supervised the restoration of the Castle from 1979 to 1984, the year in which it opened as the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea; the collection also began with the collection of the Marquis Panza di Biumo. The works on the Manica Lunga, begun in 1984, resumed in 1996, and the building reopened in 2000 with contemporary interventions such as the steel roof.

Highlights

• Permanent collection of over 200 artists, displayed in the rooms of the Castle
• Atrio Juvarriano (Juvarra Atrium) with works by Giuseppe Penone, Luciano Fabro and Pier Paolo Calzolari
• Venere degli stracci (Venus of the Rags) by Michelangelo Pistoletto
• Works by Giovanni Anselmo, Gilberto Zorio, Doris Salcedo and Marisa Merz
• Manica Lunga and the Garden of the Manica Lunga
• Tactile models of the Castle for blind and partially sighted visitors

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione permanente – Works by over 200 artists displayed on the first and second floors of the Castle, in the Atrio Juvarriano and in the Garden of the Manica Lunga, often made for the museum and in dialogue with the architecture.

Founded

1984

Visitors per year

approx. 301,453

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission for Rivoli residents every Saturday of the month.

Free admission also for tour guides, members of ICOM and CIMAM, and holders of the Abbonamento Musei Piemonte e Valle d’Aosta, Torino + Piemonte Card, Royal Card, Contemporary Card and Passaporto Culturale.

Accessibility

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

The floors are connected by lifts and ramps; step-free access is provided by two ramps, on the side of the Castello building and on the side of the Manica Lunga, with an intercom to call staff. A wheelchair is available at reception, and accessible toilets with baby-changing facilities are on the first and second floors of the Castle and on the first floor of the Manica Lunga. Two tactile models of the Castle are on the ground floor of the Manica Lunga. One reserved parking space is in piazza Mafalda di Savoia, in front of the entrance. Routes for sensory, cognitive and psychological disabilities are available on request from the Education Department (+39 011 956 5213, accessibility@castellodirivoli.org).

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

The museum has baby-changing tables in the restrooms, a nursing corner and, in the café, bottle warmers and a high chair.

Getting there & parking

By car from the A4, A5, A6, A21 and A32 motorways, follow the signs for the T4 (Frejus, Moncenisio, Monginevro) with the Rivoli exit, not Rivoli-Rosta.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café with the same hours as the museum; the official website also mentions a shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit