A masterpiece of Savoyard baroque, the palazzina of Stupinigi became an imperial residence after the annexation of Piedmont. Napoleon stayed there in May 1805, on his way to be crowned King of Italy.

Historical context

Built from 1729 by Filippo Juvarra for Victor Amadeus II, the palazzina di caccia is a St Andrew's cross plan around a central hall crowned by a bronze stag. It is not a castle but a machine for pleasure, designed for the hunts of the Turin court on the plain of the Po.

Piedmont was annexed to France in 1802 and divided into departments. The property of the House of Savoy passed to the imperial domain: Stupinigi became one of the Emperor's official residences in Italy, along with the palaces of Turin. Some of the furniture was renewed and a few apartments adapted to French taste.

Napoleon stayed there in May 1805, while crossing northern Italy to take the iron crown at Milan. Pauline Borghese, whose husband Prince Camillo Borghese was appointed governor general of the departments beyond the Alps, would stay in the Turin residences — a gilded exile the princess bore badly.

Returned to the Savoys in 1814, the palazzina escaped destruction and keeps its eighteenth-century decoration as well as furniture of the Napoleonic period. It is now a museum of art and furnishing, and one of the Savoy royal residences inscribed on the World Heritage list.