Castle of Racconigi

A great royal palace but very run down with l limited options to visit.

Beautiful and the best part was the horse and buggy guided tour around the park.(costs extra but well worth it)

Really beautiful castle and wonderful park where to spend a sunny day. Unfortunately, even if included in the World Heritage list, few information are provided in english

Nice place. The town is cute and the palace is royal but not the best I've seen in italy. We got in for free but it's normally 5 Euros.

The Royal Castle of Racconigi is a palace and landscape park in Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Italy. It was the official residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy included by UNESCO in the World Heritage Sites list. The first records of the castle are from around the year 1000, when Bernardino of Susa rebuilt an ancient manor, leaving it to Cistercian monks. The castle was a possession of the margraves of Saluzzo and others starting in the 13th century, and in the 16th century was acquired by the House of Savoy. In 1630, Duke Charles Emmanuel I granted it to his nephew Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, founder of the Savoy-Carignano line. At this time, the castle was a high brick moated fortress with a square plan, four corner towers and a tall donjon (mastio) on one side. Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Carignano, Tommaso's son, in the late 17th century, commissioned Guarino Guarini to transform the fortress into a pleasure residence. The architect erected the current central section where the court was, adding a pagoda-like roof. The two northern towers were replaced by pavilions with dome roof and square plan, provided with white marble lanterns. The gardens were also created. In the late 18th century, Ludovico Luigi Vittorio of Carignano ordered a renovation of the interiors, enlarging the two southern towers, adding stucco and other neoclassical decoration; he also commissioned a new entrance, with 4 Corinthian columns and a triangular fronton, and the great staircase. Charles Albert, a Carignano who eventually became King of Sardinia, further enlarged and embellished the castle to represent the splendour of the newly acquired reign. His court architect Ernesto Melano expanded the ancient square structure around the central section, added two side buildings connected to the façade pavilions, as well as another staircase on the southern side. Here the last King of Italy, Umberto II, was born in 1904. Having received the castle as a wedding present in 1930, he proceeded to install in it the family gallery of some 3,000 paintings and historical documents regarding the Shroud of Turin. Emmanuel Philibert created a wide park in the jardin à la française style that opens for the castle's northwards view. It was designed by the renowned 17th-century French landscape architect André Le Notre, known for designing the gardens of Versailles radiating from Palace of Versailles. In the late 18th century the English landscape garden style was introduced, Pelagio Palagi erected a series of small structures along the lake; such as the Doric Tempietto, the Gothic style chapel, and other landscape elements. A Russian dacha, built to honour Tsar Nicholas II of Russia's visit to Piedmont in order to sign the Racconigi Bargain, was also created in the landscape park.

If you come to Turin, for sure you should go and see the Summer Palace of Racconigi. It is situated approximately 50 km from Turin but it is one of the best castles to see. Big part of the castle passed under construction and it is really very nice to enter in and to hear the interesting and curiosity stories about the castle. There you can find maybe the most big Kitchen you have ever seen, you cannot even imagine, but I am sure you will like it and wish to come back again. Behind the castle there is one really big garden where you can go and relax after the tour in the castle. The price of visit is very low but it is worth seeing. Racconigi and the castle is a place where you can see lots of stork every year. Four kilometers from the castle you can find the Center of Storks and Anatidae. In the center during all the years you can observe different kind of local and migrating birds. Go there and you will be satisfied!

I can’t recommend Racconigi castle enough. As one of the House of Savoy’s favorite holiday homes, it still has an air of their presence and that of their staff. The grounds provide a stunning backdrop. My only recommendation is to go in the the warmer months when it’s a pleasure to stay outside and the castle itself isn’t too cold.

They demand some kind of old fashioned reservation through email and didn’t let me go inside without it even then there was no one else waiting. Quite ridiculous. At least they could introduce online ticket system not playing with emails like 20 years ago!