{"id":1744,"date":"2014-03-18T10:51:52","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T09:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.belpiemonte.com\/en\/?p=1744"},"modified":"2014-03-25T10:38:02","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T09:38:02","slug":"golden-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.belpiemonte.com\/en\/golden-vehicle\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dripping with gold a royal boat, richly decorated ceremonial carriages looking more like Faberge\u2019 eggs, than vehicles, all these masterpieces are exposed in the scenery of the Reggia of Venaria Reale<\/strong><\/a> near Turin<\/strong>. On the occasion of visiting the Baroque residence I watched two interesting exhibitions: Carrozze Regali<\/strong> (Royal Carriages) and La Barca Sublime<\/strong> (The Sublime Boat) which perfectly demonstrate rich and splendor life of the Royal House of Savoy.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Peota Reale – the Sublime Boat (foto from Consorzio La Venaria Reale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Royal<\/a>
Carrozze Regali (Royal Carriages) – one of masterpieces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Everything has started at the end of 17the century. Philippe de Chi\u00e9ze<\/strong>, an architect, got the order from the margrave of Brandenburg to design a representative carriage. He created Berlina<\/strong>, a model that with time was replaced by a sedan car type (in Italian berlina<\/em> means sedan, by the way). Its elegance and functionality gained immediately popularity on European courts and other sovereigns changed horse (in the past only ladies appeared publicly in carriages) into a vehicle on four wheels. And because at that time official ceremonies was the only way of communication with people, it was nothing but precisely directed performance and carriages became a kind of stage, symbol of prestige and richness.<\/p>\n

\"Royal<\/a>
gilded berlina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their creation was supervised by great architects, painters and a team of craftsmen (saddler, tailor, ironworker, glassworker, turner, goldsmith and many other specialists). Each piece was a real masterpiece and today it\u2019s an narrator of different story.<\/p>\n

\"Royal<\/a>
fine details<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Royal<\/a>
a picture on carriage door<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Royal<\/a>
inside the carriage of Pope Leo XII<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One ceremonial carriage itself is an attraction, to say nothing of the collection from 18th and 19th century, exposed in spacious interiors of royal stables – Scuderie Juvarriane<\/strong>, called in honor of outstanding architect Filippo Juvarra<\/strong> to who we owe a present aspect of the palace La Reggia. Among all these gems one deserves special attention \u2013 a gilded coupe\u2019 Berlingotto of Vittorio Emanuele I from 1789. It\u2019s the only remained royal carriage in Italy after French Revolution, the last symbol of the Ancient Regime<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Royal<\/a>
gilded coupe\u2019 Berlingotto form 1789<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite magnificent carriages my attention was caught by ornamental sedan chairs, trolleys, but also the 1909 automobile \u201cPalombella\u201d that belonged to Queen Margherita which marked the passage from carriages to cars at official parades.<\/p>\n

\"Royal<\/a>
sedan chairs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Royal<\/a>
the trolley of a young Vittorio Emanuele III<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Royal<\/a>
“Palombella from 1909<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But even the most precious carriage can\u2019t by compared with an extraordinary boat, a symbol of power and richness of Savoy Family \u2013 Peota Reale<\/strong>. This imposing galley (16 m long and 2,6 m wide), dazzles with luxury, fine details, and even with its price (34 000 lire, equivalent of 3 million Euros if paid today). Its name \u201cpeota\u201d means a river boat. It was ordered in 1729 by Vittorio Amadeo III. In Venice for two years a team of artists and craftsmen worked on its creation to arrive at the end to Turin after 32 days of trip.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Narcissus on a bow (foto from Consorzio La Venaria Reale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sublime boat it\u2019s the only Venice galley that remained to our times. It was used as fabulous frame for official ceremonies \u2013 royal parades and weddings. In 1869 Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy, donated the boat to the city of Turin and after that it was expose in the Museo Civico (il Museo Civico d\u2019Arte Antica di Torino). After a long and costly renovation it was placed in Juvarra Stables in the Reggia of Venaria Reale.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
a royal emblem decorating a cabin of monarchy (foto from Consorzio La Venaria Reale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
Venetian galley from rudder perspective (foto from Consorzio La Venaria Reale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because a royal galley needs a royal exposure the Sublime Boat exhibition is enriched by a 30-minutes show prepared by Davide Livermore<\/strong>, a stage director specialized in musical theater. A performance is divided into 3 steps. At the beginning I had possibility to learn some facts about the boat: history, transportation from Venice to Turin and the renovation process. Then I moved to the second room – a Baroque theater in which main roles were played by monarchs, like the progenitor of the boat, Vittorio Amadeo III and Narcissus, a figure that decorates a bow. But the most interesting show was just ahead. In the third and the last room a majestic boat, a gilded glittering beauty emerges from darkness. In the background I can hear the musical arias by Antonio Vivaldi. A light is illuminating sculptures of Narcissus and figures symbolizing the river Po and Adige, rudder in a shape of a dragon is wrapped by golden horses. In the middle of the boat I admire a beautiful cabin of monarchy and his guests. Videos and glass floor make venetian galley to drift on blue waters again…<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
the Sublim Boat during the show (foto from Consorzio La Venaria Reale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Special thanks for Consorzio la Venaria Reale<\/strong> for sharing pictures of Peota Reale. More info about other exhibitions in Venaria Reale on: http:\/\/www.lavenaria.it\/web\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dripping with gold a royal boat, richly decorated ceremonial carriages looking more like Faberge\u2019 eggs, than vehicles, all these masterpieces are exposed in the scenery of the Reggia of Venaria Reale near Turin. On the occasion of visiting the Baroque residence I watched two interesting exhibitions: Carrozze Regali (Royal Carriages) and La Barca Sublime (The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[35,65],"class_list":["post-1744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-turin-and-its-surrounding-areas","tag-sabaudian-residences","tag-the-reggia-of-venaria-reale"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t