Palazzo Madama
In the 17th Century this marvelous palace in the heart of piazza Castello was the official residence of regents Maria Cristina of France and Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours. The baroque facade is by Juvarra and so is the grand staircase. Juvarra’s entire project was not completed, and the rest of the building has the look of a medieval castle (designed by Alfredo d’Andrade). Gozzano said that Palazzo Madama “synthesizes in stone the entire history of Turin, from the very beginning to the Roman era to our Risorgimento”. In fact the construction encloses the towers of the old Roman gate Porta Pretoria, the 15th Century castle of Ludovico d’Acaja and the baroque additions by Juvarra.