Two stunning 17thcentury royal palaces await today, both built by the house of Savoy and bothjust outside the city of Turin. The first is the Venaria Reale, a huge palacewith some outstanding baroque rooms, such as the Salone di Diana and theGalleria Grande and surrounded by a magnificent park and gardens with the Alpsas a backdrop. The second is the Villa della Regina, (the queen’s villa). TheVilla was quite badly damaged in WWII but has recently been restored andreopened to the public. There are some fine paintings and frescos in the mainrooms and the gardens are a delight, dotted with romantic pavilions, grottoesand fountains, not to mention vegetable gardens and even a vineyard.
