ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, Royal Gardens

After the visit to the Museum of Antiquities, you deserve a relaxing stroll in the vegetation of the magnificent historical park that extends behind the Royal Palace. Thanks to a successful two-part renovation, first of the trees, and then of the eighteenth-century sculptures, you can finally enjoy this space where art and nature mingle. You'll see large chestnut trees, sycamores, and linden trees, but also ginkgo biloba, cedars, walnuts, and many other precious trees.

The Savoys loved outdoor life, dogs and horses, and clearly their residence couldn't lack a great green space! The first project for the Royal Gardens dates back to Emanuele Filiberto in the second half of the 1500s. It was a typical period garden decorated with fountains and grottoes, fish ponds, and cages for birds, especially exotic ones. There was even a special area for citrus, which, however, weren't planted in the ground but in large pots. You were just inside the greenhouse known as the "Orangerie" that protected the citrus plants in winter, and is now home to the Museum of Antiquities.

The Royal Gardens offer you about five hectares of land to wander through. The oldest part to the north of the Royal Palace is the Duke's Garden; the Garden of the Arts to the east has the same layout of paths and perspectives that was designed for Versailles, while in the northeast you'll find the 19th-century Grove with taller shrubs....