On the centenary of the death of Margaret of Savoy, the first queen of Italy, the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi is offering a comprehensive program of initiatives that, between January and July 2026, aims to restore a complex and up-to-date portrait of the sovereign. The project, entitled Margherita. A Century of History, focuses on an aspect often evoked but rarely explored in a systematic way: the modernity of a queen capable of intercepting and orienting tastes, styles and behaviors in a phase of profound transformation of Italian society.
Educated, attentive to the new, sensitive to fashion, design, tableware and technological innovations, Margaret of Savoy emerges as a figure balanced between tradition and change. A sovereign who, while embodying the institutional role of the monarchy, knew how to dialogue with her own time and contribute to the construction of a shared imaginary, far beyond the confines of the court. It is from this perspective that the Stupinigi project takes shape, developed thanks to the collaboration with MAUTO - Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, private collectors and other entities, not exclusively cultural, such as the Chocolate and Gianduja Museum “Choco-Story Torino” and Pfatisch.
The centerpiece of the program is the exhibition On the Queen’s Roads. At the Origins of the Modern Automobile, scheduled from March 5 to June 28, 2026 in the Citroniera di Ponente. The exhibition, produced in collaboration with MAUTO, relates eleven original automobiles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries with nine historic carriages from the Nicolotti Furno private collection. The itinerary recounts a crucial transitional phase in the history of mobility, when horses and motors shared the same roads and the urban landscape began to change face. A theme that ties directly to the figure of Margherita, who owned a driver’s license and a stable of thirteen cars, a sign of a concrete interest in new technologies and speed as a symbol of progress.
Alongside the exhibition, the project Margherita’s Rooms invites the public to explore the rooms of the Levante Apartment and other spaces in the Palazzina through the comparison of historical photographs and present-day contexts. The itinerary returns the image of a queen who was attentive to living, capable of transforming a monumental residence into a personal and functional space. Margaret was the last sovereign to live permanently at Stupinigi before its transformation into a museum. Between 1901 and 1919 the Palazzina became for her a privileged, elegant and private residence, far from the city but open to the demands of modernity. Here she introduced new comforts, experimented with innovative solutions and left a recognizable imprint on the way royal spaces were organized and experienced.
The program is enriched with the special project Le Perle della Regina, a chocolate designed by the Chocolate and Gianduja Museum “Choco-Story Torino” and made by Pfatisch. The creation, which combines a heart of IGP Piedmont hazelnut with a pearly-looking white chocolate shell, is reminiscent of the necklaces beloved by the queen and is intended to celebrate Piedmontese tradition. The chocolate will be presented on Sunday, January 25, during a historical re-enactment and storytelling event designed as a journey between memory, taste and storytelling.
The tale of Margherita is also developed through the lecture series Margherita a Stupinigi e il suo tempo, which addresses the figure of the queen from topics such as fashion, automobiles, cuisine and design, reread in light of the transformations of the early 20th century. These initiatives are complemented by monthly guided tours Margherita and Stupinigi, dedicated to the rooms of the Palazzina and the innovations introduced during the sovereign’s stay.
The program culminates with the historical reenactment The Days of Margaret, scheduled for June 20 and 21, 2026. The widespread event, curated by Le vie del tempo, restores atmospheres, gestures and presences of the early 20th century, involving different spaces of the Palazzina and offering an engaging reading of the period. Closing the project are educational activities aimed at families and schools, designed to tell the story through an accessible, narrative and intergenerational approach.
Tickets: full 12 euros; reduced 8 euros for children 6-17 years old and over 65.
Free: under 6 and holders of Abbonamento Musei Torino Piemonte and Royal Card, accompanying disabled people
Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m.-5.30 p.m. (last admission 5 p.m.); Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10 a.m.-6.30 p.m. (last admission 6 p.m.)
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| The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi dedicates a rich program of initiatives to Margherita di Savoia |
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