Valentino Park and the Medieval Village
The castle and a reconstructed medieval village
Along the left bank of the Po, south of the centre of Turin, the Parco del Valentino is the city's most famous park, opened in 1856, with avenues, lawns, flower beds, a botanical garden of the University and boats that sail along the river. It takes its name from the Castello del Valentino, a seventeenth century château in the French style, with slate roofs and an elegant courtyard, built for Christine of France, the wife of Duke Victor Amadeus I, known as "Madama Reale"; part of the UNESCO site of the Savoy Residences, it now houses the Faculty of Architecture of the Polytechnic.
Next to it lies one of the most curious places in Turin: the Borgo Medievale, a perfect reconstruction of a fifteenth century Piedmontese village, with houses, shops, a church, a fountain and a fortress, the Rocca, built for the General Italian Exhibition of 1884. Its designers, led by Alfredo d'Andrade, faithfully copied real buildings from castles and villages of Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, such as Fenis, Issogne and Verrès, creating a sort of open-air museum of medieval architecture. The craft workshops are still active, and the Rocca can be visited, with furnished rooms that recreate life in a fifteenth century castle. In summer, the park comes alive with concerts, bars and events along the river, the "murazzi".
Tip: the Borgo is free to enter; the Rocca has a ticket. Rent a bicycle to explore the park and the riverside.
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