Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in Turin

17 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Castello del Valentino © panoramio.com - Michael Paraskevas/cc-by-sa-3.0

Castello del Valentino © panoramio.com – Michael Paraskevas/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy are a group of buildings in Turin and the Metropolitan City of Turin, in Piedmont (northern Italy). It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997. The House of Savoy is an ancient royal family, being founded in year 1003 in the Savoy region (now in Rhône-Alpes, France), later expanding so that by 1720 it reigned over the Kingdom of Sardinia in northwestern Italy. Through its junior branch, the House of Savoy-Carignano, it led the unification of Italy in 1861 and ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II. At this time, King Victor Emanuel III abdicated in favour of his son Umberto II but after an institutional referendum in 1946, the monarchy was abolished, a republic was established, and members of the House of Savoy were required to leave the country. After many decades of diplomacy, the family has since been allowed to return to Italy.   read more…

The Lago Maggiore

14 October 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Isola Bella - Borromean Islands © Mbdortmund

Isola Bella – Borromean Islands © Mbdortmund

Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona. The climate is mild in both summer and winter, producing Mediterranean vegetation, with beautiful gardens growing rare and exotic plants. Well-known gardens include those of the Isola Madre, Isola Bella and the Isole di Brissago, that of the Villa Taranto in Verbania, and the Alpinia botanical garden above Stresa.   read more…

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