See Palace of Venaria (Reggia di Venaria Reale), Italy (UNESCO site)

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The Palace of Venaria (Reggia di Venaria Reale) is a former royal residence located in Venaria Reale, near Turin, in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, included in the UNESCO Heritage List in 1997, and one of the largest royal residences in the world, comparable in size and structures to those of Versailles and Caserta (though the latter's park is far larger). The Palace was designed and built from 1675 by Amedeo di Castellamonte, commissioned by duke Charles Emmanuel II, who needed a base for his hunting expeditions in the heathy hill country north of Turin. The name itself derives from Latin,Venatio Regiameaning "Royal Hunt". The entrance of the palace leads into theCorte d'onore("Honour Court"), which once housed a fountain with a deer. The main facade, covered in the 17th century section with plaster and featuring cornucopias, shells and fruits, is connected on the right by a part with brickworks added in the 18th century. From the Michelangelo Garove period (1669–1713) are the two towers covered with multicolor pentagonal tiles in ceramics, which are united by a large gallery, known from the 20th century asGalleria di Diana. The interiors originally housed a large collection of stuccos, statues, paintings (according to Amedeo di Castellamonte, up to 8,000) from some of the court artists of the times, such as Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli, Pietro Domenico Olivero and Bernardino Quadri. The originalgardensof the residence are now totally disappeared, since French troops turned them into training grounds. Earlier drawings show an Italian garden with three terraces connected by elaborate stairways and architectural features such as a clock tower in the first court, the fountain of Hercules, a theater and parterres. Recent works have recreated a park in modern style, exhibiting modern works by Giuseppe Pennone, including a fake 12 m-high cedar housing the thermic discharges of the palace.

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