Torino

Turin a renewed city

Turin has scheduled many other new features for 2011: new displays in the Automobile Museum and the Egyptian Museum, the reopening of splendid apartments in the Palazzo Reale, the opening of the first section of the Galleria Sabauda, and the refurbishment of the Mastio della Cittadella, as well as significant work done on the green areas of the city – Valentino Park and the new Dora Park, with the ecology Museum A come Ambiente.

The Automobile Museum, unique to Italy and one of the oldest in the world, will be reopening on 18 March 2011. It is being radically renovated, with a larger and completely overhauled display area designed by the architect Cino Zucchi and displays organised by the set designer François Confino. The new Museum tells of the car’s evolution from being a means of transport to a cult object, through the epoch-making moments of society.

The first step of the project for renovating the Egyptian Museum has begun with new spaces for the services of welcoming, catering and access. The new Museum, due to be twice the size and refurbished, will be ready in 2015.
Palazzo Reale is reopening to the public the Appartamento di Rappresentanza, with the Sala del Trono and the Sala del Consiglio where Carlo Alberto signed the Statuto Albertino, and the Apartment of the Princes of Piedmont where Vittorio Emanuele II and Queen Maria Adelaide lived.

The celebrations will conclude with the opening of the first section of the Galleria Sabauda, set up by Carlo Alberto in 1832, in its new location in Palazzo Reale.

The restoration works of the Mastio della Cittadella will be completed, the only building left of the 16th century pentagonal fortification, which will once again be home to the precious objects of the National Artillery Museum.Valentino Park, the city’s historical green haven, will become essential visiting when in Turin, with the renewed Borgo Medievale and the new ferries on the River Po from which can be enjoyed architectural gems facing the river, such as Moncalieri Castle and the Basilica di Superga.

On the banks of another river – the Dora Riparia – there will be opening the Dora Park in 2011, a new green area covering 45 hectares in a location where, at one time, there were factories and workshops. An ideal spot for playing sports and relaxing, or for going to the ecology Museum A come Ambiente, which now has a new section added for the occasion.