La Venaria Reale is the Ancient Village, a treasure trove of events and historical vicissitudes; it is the imposing Baroque Reggia which, with its vast Gardens, represents one of the most significant examples of the magnificence of 17th and 18th century architecture and art; it is the La Mandria Park, one of Europe's largest nature reserves, where numerous species of wild and domestic animals live freely and where the Castle of the same name is kept.

The Reggia di Venaria and the Castello della Mandria have been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The origins of Venaria Reale date back to the mid-seventeenth century, when Duke Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy decided to build a new "pleasure and hunting" residence for the court. pleasure and hunting" residence for the court: the choice of the site was in fact determined by the fact that it had already been the scene of ducal hunts since 1580, as well as to complete the 'Corona di Delizie' (Crown of Delights), the system of court residences that his predecessors had progressively built around Turin. This decision was the starting point for a complex and imposing urban planning operation, without precedent in the Savoy State, destined to totally reshape the pre-existing site, Altena. the pre-existing site, Altessano Superiore, which effectively disappeared to make way for the new town. The projects for its realisation were commissioned the court architect Amedeo di Castellamonte, who moulded the village, the palace with its facilities, the gardens and the hunting woods (what is now La Mandria Park) into a unique scenic ensemble. into a unicum of architectural and environmental scenery to create a grandiose monumental complex governed by a single axis of symmetry, still clearly identifiable today in the Via Maestra (today's Via Maestra). still identifiable today in the Via Maestra (today Via Andrea Mensa) of the town. In fact, Venaria Reale was not born as a separate residence, but as an articulated complex, in which the civil part was integrated with that of the courtyard and then flowed seamlessly into the natural part.

The centrepiece was the so-called Reggia of Diana, built between 1660 and 1671, and destined to undergo two centuries of uninterrupted changes, changes and events that had an impact on the social and economic life of the city: as early as 1693, the French troops of Marshal Catinat sacked part of the complex. sacked part of the complex, and it was up to the architect Michelangelo Garove to rebuild it from 1699 onwards, also to meet the renewed demands of the architectural taste of the time. architectural taste of the time. Moreover, with the advent of the last duke and future first Savoy king, Vittorio Amedeo II, the dynasty pursued regal ambitions that had to be reflected and celebrated in the palace. reflected and celebrated in the grandeur of their residences: this is how Garove came up with a more imposing image for the Venaria palace, directly influenced by French architectural styles. This was how Garove came up with a more imposing image for the Venaria palace, directly influenced by the French architectural styles of the time: large pavilions linked by galleries and mansard roofs. The enlargement work was resumed in 1716 by Filippo Juvarra by Filippo Juvarra (to whom we owe the Great Gallery, in recent times known as the 'Diana's Gallery', and the construction of the Chapel of St Hubert, dedicated to the patron saint of hunters, of the Citroniera and of the Scuderia Grande) and continued until about the second half of the 18th century with other architects, including Benedetto Alfieri (who, from 1751 onwards, created the connecting sleeves of the bodies of the Great Gallery), Alfieri (who, from 1751, built the sleeves connecting the Juvarra's bodies, the riding stables, the new stables and the sleeve with the Belvedere tower to join the chapel to the palace). In the middle of the In the mid-eighteenth century, French travellers spoke of Venaria Reale as “the King's largest and most important country residence“.

At the same time as the buildings were being completely redesigned, the Gardens also lost the "Italian-style" appearance desired by Castellamonte to become a large "French-style" park of about 125 hectares, with embroidered parterres, avenues, pools, groves and a large garden. a large 'French-style' park of about 125 hectares, with embroidered parterres, avenues, ponds, groves, pergolas and a large labyrinth. With the French occupation in 1798, the Venaria complex began to experience a slow but unstoppable decline. The residence did not enter the circuit of Napoleon's imperial residences, as happened for example in the case of the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi. treasures and the cancellation of the park. During the Restoration period, the entire Savoy complex was used as barracks and throughout the 19th century it housed artillery regiments that played a major role in the wars of independence of the Risorgimento.

Amedeo di Castellamonte also designed the current Ancient Village of Venaria, built between 1667 and 1690, whose focal point is the Piazza dell'Annunziata. Its focal point is the Piazza dell'Annunziata, dedicated to the Annunciation of Mary. The two statues placed on the columns erected at the centre of the exedras represent the The two statues on the columns erected at the centre of the exedras depict the Angel of the Annunciation and the Virgin: the particular shape of the square is also reminiscent of the medallion of the Collar of the Annunciation, the symbol of one of the oldest and most prestigious orders of knighthood. prestigious Savoy knightly orders. The square was conceived as a relatively large area to interrupt the long straight stretch of the Via Maestra (or Contrada Granda, the city's main street). (or Contrada Granda, today's Via Andrea Mensa leading to the Royal Palace) to reduce it into two sections, and thus represent an authentic scenic intermediate stage before the final effect produced by the Palace. before the final effect produced at the end of the street with the visual opening onto the palace. The town needed a place to serve as a meeting point for the The town needed a place that would serve as a social and cultural meeting point for the population, as well as an expression of Venaria's productive life with the presence of craft shops set out in plain sight under the palace. with the presence of artisan workshops in view under the arcades. After the 17th-century phase, if we disregard the renovation of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Piazza dell'Annunziata around the middle of the 18th century by the architect Benedetto Alfieri, building work only resumed during the French period and mainly involved the construction of new buildings. and mainly involved the construction of new houses in the area south of Contrada Granda. After the end of the Napoleonic occupation, there were no more urban changes for a long time. For a long time after Napoleon's occupation, there were no more substantial urban changes, if anything the use of the various buildings changed: during the 19th century, together with the Reggia During the nineteenth century, together with the Royal Palace, which was converted into barracks, the whole city was given a military airing.