The story
As you stand here in the vast expanse of Piazza Castello, your eyes are likely drawn to the building that occupies its very center. This is Palazzo Madama, and it is perhaps the most architectural riddle in all of Italy. Look closely, and you will see that this building is a grand illusionist.
From where you are likely standing, facing its magnificent white facade, it looks like a quintessential Baroque palace—airy, elegant, and adorned with statues. But walk around to the back, and the mask slips. Suddenly, you are staring at a grim, brick-faced medieval castle with jagged battlements and stout Roman towers.
This strange duality tells the entire story of Turin. The red brick towers you see on the eastern side were originally part of the Porta Decumana, the Roman gate that led into the city two thousand years ago. In the Middle Ages, the powerful Savoy family saw the strategic value of those ruins and fortified them, turning a gateway into a fortress.
It was a place of soldiers, thick walls, and defensive narrow windows. However, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the building underwent a transformation fueled by the ambitions of two remarkable women, known as the Madama Reale. First, Marie Christine of France, and later, Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours.
These women didn’t want a fortress; they wanted a stage. They reigned as regents, wielding significant power, and they needed a palace that reflected the sophistication of the European courts. To achieve this, they hired the architectural genius Filippo Juvarra.
In 1718, Juvarra performed a miracle of design. He didn’t tear down the old castle; he simply draped a magnificent, limestone screen over the front of it. When you look at the large, arched windows and the Corinthian columns today, you are looking at Juvarra’s masterpiece.
Inside, he built one of the most famous staircases in the world. It is wide, light-filled, and designed specifically so that noble guests could see and be seen as they ascended to the grand halls above. Beyond its beauty, this building served as the heartbeat of a new nation.
In 1848, the first Subalpine Senate met within these walls, and it was here that the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy was celebrated. Today, it houses the Civic Museum of Ancient Art, but the building itself remains the greatest artifact. As you walk around the perimeter, notice how the rough, dark stone of the Middle Ages meets the smooth, white marble of the Enlightenment.
Palazzo Madama doesn’t choose between its pasts; it wears them both at once, standing as a testament to the resilient, multifaceted spirit of Turin.