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| Palazzo Lascaris | |
|---|---|
| Name | Palazzo Lascaris |
| Location | Turin |
| Built | 17th century |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Owner | Region of Piedmont |
Palazzo Lascaris is a historic palace in Turin that serves as a landmark of Piedmontese aristocratic residence and regional politics. Situated near the Piazza Castello and the Royal Palace of Turin, it occupies a prominent place in the urban fabric shaped by the House of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, and later nineteenth- and twentieth-century Italian institutions. The building is noted for connections to the Lascaris family, its baroque façades, and the presence of important civic collections associated with the Regional Council of Piedmont and the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino.
The site traces back to property owned by the Lascaris di Ventimiglia lineage and was refurbished during the seventeenth century under the influence of Carlo Emanuele II and the courtly tastes fostered by Filippo Juvarra and Guarino Guarini. During the Napoleonic Wars the palace passed through the hands of administrators connected to the French Consulate and later the Kingdom of Sardinia restoration after the Congress of Vienna. In the nineteenth century it became intertwined with the rise of the Risorgimento and figures such as Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and bureaucrats of the Statuto Albertino era who frequented Turin’s aristocratic palaces. Following Italian unification the building hosted governmental and parliamentary uses tied to the Piedmont region, and in the twentieth century it was requisitioned for regional representative bodies connected with the Italian Republic and the Region of Piedmont assembly reforms.
The palace exhibits Baroque and late-seventeenth-century architectural features resonant with works by Guarino Guarini and Filippo Juvarra, including an articulated courtyard and scenographic staircases comparable to those in the Royal Palace of Turin and the Palazzo Carignano. Its rusticated stone base, stringcourses, and piano nobile windows reflect typologies used by designers working for the House of Savoy after the War of the Spanish Succession and during the patronage networks involving Andrea Pozzo and Balthasar Neumann-influenced aesthetics. Decorative programs on the façades and loggias reference iconographic repertories similar to those in Palazzo Madama and commissions for churches like San Lorenzo, Turin. Restoration campaigns in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries involved conservation specialists from institutions such as the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro and collaborations with the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of Piedmont.
Interiors retain fresco cycles, stucco work, and period decoration echoing ateliers allied to Giovanni Battista Beinaschi, Francesco Solimena, and regional painters of the Baroque and Rococo periods. The palace houses archival holdings, portraiture, and decorative arts assembled across centuries, with objects comparable to collections in the Museo Egizio and holdings catalogued by the Archivio di Stato di Torino. Furniture, tapestries, and numismatic displays reflect networks of patronage associated with families such as the Lascaris, Savoy-Aosta, and collectors who contributed to repositories like the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano. Temporary loans and exchanges have connected the palace’s collections with institutions including the Galleria Sabauda, the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, and the Palazzo Reale conservation programs.
Since its acquisition by public authorities, the building has served as the seat of regional legislative functions linked to the Regional Council of Piedmont and assemblies modeled after the postwar Constitution of the Italian Republic. It hosts plenary meetings, committee sessions, and ceremonial functions sometimes attended by national figures from the Italian Parliament, presidents of the Regional Council, and representatives of the European Union delegations. The palace’s role in local governance intersects with administrative reforms promulgated by the Statute of the Region of Piedmont and legislative acts affecting regional competencies enacted by the Italian Republic and debated in chambers influenced by leaders such as Alcide De Gasperi and Sandro Pertini during earlier constitutional consolidation.
Palace spaces are used for cultural programming, exhibitions, and public events in partnership with organizations such as the Fondazione Torino Musei, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, and academic institutions like the University of Turin. Seasonal openings and guided tours connect visitors to narratives about the House of Savoy, the Risorgimento, and regional art history paralleling exhibitions at venues like the MAO – Museo d’Arte Orientale and the Museo dell’Automobile. Concerts, conferences, and civic ceremonies have featured collaborations with orchestras such as the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI and cultural festivals like the Turin International Book Fair and local heritage initiatives supported by the Comune di Torino.
Category:Buildings and structures in Turin Category:Baroque palaces in Italy