Palazzo Madama

Palazzo Madama stands in the middle of Piazza Castello in Turin, Piedmont, and is one of the few buildings in Italy that visibly layers two thousand years of history. The structure began as the eastern Roman gate of the city, was converted into a fortified castle in the Middle Ages, and received its Baroque facade and monumental staircase from Filippo Juvarra in the early 18th century. The name recalls the royal widows, the Madama Reale, who lived here. Today it houses the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, whose collection covers medieval, Renaissance and Baroque art, with ceramics, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture and paintings. The best-known work is Antonello da Messina's Portrait of a Man, along with the Book of Hours of Turin-Milan material associated with the museum. Visitors enter through Juvarra's staircase and atrium, then move through floors that mix the castle's medieval spaces with later state rooms. The Baroque rooms and the Senate Hall recall the building's use as the first seat of the Italian Senate. A climb up the tower rewards visitors with views across Piazza Castello, the Royal Palace and, on clear days, the Alps. A visit generally takes one and a half to two hours. Photography from the piazza is best in the morning when the Juvarra facade is lit, while the tower terrace offers the most distinctive vantage point. Crowds are lightest on weekday mornings and rise at weekends and during school-group periods. The museum is closed on Mondays and is open from about 10AM to 6PM on other days, with last entry at 5PM. A combined Multimuseo ticket linking Palazzo Madama, GAM and MAO can lower the cost for visitors seeing several sites. The museum cafe in the building offers a place to rest between floors. Visitors with limited time can concentrate on the Juvarra staircase, the main painting gallery and the tower.