The Castle of Moncalieri (Turin) is enriched with a new permanent exhibit that transports visitors to the intimacy of the 19th-century Savoy court. From June 7, 2025, the rooms of theApartment of Victor Emmanuel II and his consort Maria Adelaide will host a fascinating setting that evokes the customs of the aristocratic table, amidst porcelain, silverware and alabaster cakes.
Realized in collaboration with the Municipality of Moncalieri and the “Friends of the Royal Castle and Park of Moncalieri” Association, the project titled Royal Breakfasts and White Tangles restores life and narrative to the environments of the Dining Room and the Reception Room, also known as the “Conference Room.” Two places that, thanks to meticulous staging, return to reflect the splendor of an era and the private daily life of a sovereign who preferred family intimacy to the pomp of court.
The rooms featured in the new exhibit are not new to the history of the Savoy court. In the early 19th century, during the reign of Victor Emmanuel I, these rooms were part of the Apartment of the Princesses. Here lived two of his daughters, Marianne and Maria Christina, both linked to dynastic marriages that strengthened the ties between European ruling houses.
Marianne married Ferdinand I of Austria in 1831, while Maria Christina, proclaimed blessed in 2014, went on to marry Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. Over the decades, the halls underwent transformations reflecting the evolution of taste, culminating in the 1850s with a refined renovation overseen by Domenico Ferri. The Bolognese artist renovated the interiors in the style of the Second Empire, inspired by the Paris of Napoleon III, with special attention to Maria Adelaide’s artistic sensibilities.
The new mise en scène in the Dining Room is a tribute as much aesthetic as historical. The table is set with ceramic plates with blue phytomorphic motifs on a white background, glassware, silver cutlery and trays-the result of recent acquisitions-along with two four-armed gilded candelabra with putti figures, part of the castle’s original collection.
As well as fascinating for its rich materials and attention to detail, the display invites reflection on royal eating habits and changes in table ceremonial. From ’French-style’ service, in which all courses were presented at the same time, there was a gradual shift to ’Russian-style’ service, with an orderly succession of courses, as still in use today.
During the 18th century, the moment of the meal, once a public ceremony charged with political significance, gradually assumed a more reserved character. With Victor Emmanuel II, this transformation was fully accomplished: the king, notoriously reluctant to official lunches, preferred to eat meals in the company of a few intimates-family members and trusted officials-in the silence and discretion that only Moncalieri could offer.
Instead, the Sala del Convegno, or Reception Hall, hosts a second table, set up with chocolate and tea cups and alabaster cakes from Volterra. This is an opportunity to explore another crucial moment of the court day: that of breakfasts and snacks, rituals that combined conviviality and refinement.
Among the unmissable symbols of this part of the display are gianduiotti, sweets born in Turin in the early 19th century in response to the cocoa shortage caused by the economic blockade imposed by Napoleon. Chocolate was thus transformed into an all-Piedmontese specialty, the result of ingenuity and resilience, quickly becoming the region’s confectionery icon.
Further enriching the exhibition, through Sunday, July 6, are installations by Matilde Domestico, an artist who for years has been investigating the theme of the cup as an everyday object and universal metaphor. Her works, placed in the same rooms, establish a poetic dialogue with spaces and the rituality of drinking and sharing.
In ceramic or porcelain, whole or reduced to fragments, Domestico’s cups tell of a fragility that is only apparent, capable of resisting time and changing shape without getting lost. The compositions appear as monochrome spheres, slender columns or precariously balanced installations that open up new visions of the everyday.
Prominent among them is a paper cup entitled Bring me the sunset in a cup, inspired by a famous verse by poet Emily Dickinson. A tribute to the great American writer and at the same time an anticipation of the future collaboration between Moncalieri Castle and the Fortress of Gavi, scheduled for 2026, on the 140th anniversary of her death.
With the official opening on Saturday, June 7, the new display of tables becomes an integral part of the permanent tour inside the Apartment of Victor Emmanuel II and Maria Adelaide. A unique opportunity to approach the history of the Savoy dynasty through the objects and rituals of everyday life, in a perfect balance of beauty, memory and suggestion.
Matilde Domestico’s installations, on the other hand, will be on view until Sunday, July 6. The entire route is accessible every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.). Reservations, while not mandatory, are strongly recommended to ensure a peaceful visit with proper attention to detail.
|
|
| Moncalieri Castle dedicates new display to royal table |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
