Just a few kilometers from Torino, in the southern outskirts of the city, there is what is probably the finest example of the Italian baroque. The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi was built by the architect Filippo Juvarra in the late 1720's as a hunting lodge for the Savoy royal family.
Today the palace houses the Museo di Arte e Ammobiliamento, a museum of the arts and furnishings, some original to the Palazzina, others brought from other Savoy residences as those in Moncalieri and Venaria Reale. It's one of the residences of the royal house of Savoy and, as such, listed in the Unesco World Heritage Sites.
I took this picture about three weeks ago, while leading a two-weeks long workshop that later I began to call the "Kingdom of Sardinia tour", as it touched all the territories of this pre-unification Italian state, such as Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria and Sardinia.
Below are a few pictures of the hall of the Palazzina, which is the main feature of the building, placed right at the center. I took all these pictures with the camera hand-held as unfortunately the use of tripods is not allowed inside. Working a bit with high ISOs, wide apertures and some post production, I think I achieved nonetheless a very good image quality.
Besides the main hall, there are a few other very interesting rooms:
The palace has beautiful, big glass walls and windows. The glasses are in most cases as old as the building, producing a wonderful soft-focus effect.
Finally, a few pictures of the palace from outside.
This palace is a real gem, and if you come to Turin you should not miss it! For planning your visit, you can check their website. Or, of course, you could book a workshop with me, this palace is a shooting location of mine, usually included in the Western Alps and the Langhe Hills private tours.