Nowadays the palace is located on the ancient "Assunta" block delimited by Bogino, Giolitti, Carlo Alberto and Maria Vittoria streets.

The original nucleus of the building - Count Flaminio Antonio Ripa di Giaglione's property - dates back to 1675. The present garden area was added three years after, donated by Giovanna Maria Battista di Savoia Nemours, member of royal family. In 1685 the complex passed to Dal Pozzo della Cisterna family who enriched and embellished progressively the structure.

Many restructuring and amplification works, projected by the royal architect Francesco Valeriano Dellala di Beinasco, started from the second half of the XVIIIth century and concluded under prince-patron Giuseppe Alfonso; so the west sleeve was remodelled and the front was arranged, a new stable was built. Skilful artisans and craftsmen executed decorations in wood, stucco and iron. The palace is a good example of Piedmont Baroque, which can be seen nowadays on the sober Via Maria Vittoria façade.

In the years between the end of the XVIIIth century and the first decades of the XIXth century the life of the palace slowed down due to the Napoleonic occupation and to forced exile - in 1821 - of prince Emanuele della Cisterna involved in the liberal riots and sentenced to death penalty. His assets are confiscated, but in 1832 the seizure is revoked and death penalty sentence is commuted to exile. Finally, in 1842, the prince benefit of an indult.

In 1867, Maria Vittoria della Cisterna, heir of her father Emanuele della Cisterna dead in 1864, married prince Amedeo di Savoia, Duke of Aosta. The palace, became ducal centre and changed its profile once again, assuming a more representative role: new rooms were added, coffered ceiling were realized, polychrome glazed were placed, gildings and silken tapestries were applied. The entire palace was enriched with precious furniture, with numerous paintings and with mosaic decorations of the painters Augusto Ferri and Francisco Gonin.

In 1876, Maria Vittoria della Cisterna, Queen of Spain for three years, died being only 29 years old: her sons Emanuele Filiberto, Vittorio Emanuele and Luigi Amedeo, with their father Amedeo, inherited the palace and the other family assets. Even after the Maria Vittoria della Cisterna's dead, for her husband Amedeo's will, the works in the palace continues in the last end of the XIXth century, delineating therefore the present aspect of the complex.

Between 1878 and 1879 the inner façade was completed following Camillo Riccio and Alexander Albert's projects; to the outside, the boundary wall of the garden on Via Carlo Alberto was pulled down and, instead of it, the present railing was built. Between 1879 and 1883 was realized the great representation staircase; in 1898 was superelevated the terrace between the courtyard and the garden.

Between 1905 and 1906, Alfredo D'Andrade and other students committed themselves, with success, to protect and to safeguard the façade of the palace from aesthetic and structural tampering.

In August 1940 the Savoia Aosta family sold the complex to the Turin Provincial Administration.

The following year the Turin Provincial Administration realized the Giovanni Chevalley's project for the public-institutional adaptation of the complex. At the ending of the Second World War - 29th April 1945 - the palace was the seat of the regional Government raised from CLN (National Liberation Committee) and the 9th October of the same year the Provincial Deputation established itself in the palace. Today in the palace still conserves one of the most remarkable testimony of the decorations of the XVIIth century. It is a vault, at the ground floor, east wing, used today as reading room of Province Historical Library. Always situated at the ground floor, on the west wing, there are four great rooms in which Gonin's frescos of XIXth century and a pretty backstairs can be admired.

The remaining aulic part of the complex at the first floor is announced by a prestigious staircase showing and presenting the restructuring of XIXth century in Tuscany style: the coffered ceilings follow one another with rigorous symmetries, varied from multiple decorations and gildings with games of light originated by cathedral glass windows decorated with scenes. Some furnishings are still the original ducal ones. There are series of paintings exposed ranging over from the Dal Pozzo della Cisterna family portraits to different works of art of the XIXth and XXth centuries.

More details about the history of Palazzo Cisterna are available on the web site of the Provincia di Torino (in Italian).

For a guided tour of Palazzo Cisterna (in Italian) take a look here and here .

Provincia di Torino URP - Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico
Via Maria Vittoria 12, 10123 Torino
Free number (in Italy) 800 300 360
Tel +39-011-861-2644 /-2437 /-2901
Fax +39-011-8612716

This page was last updated: 23.05.2006