Giardini Reali Torino

The renovation of the gardens started in 1685 under Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia-Nemours, directed by Henri Duparc, who used a design by André Le Notre, the most famous European gardener of the time, who had designed the Tuileries gardens in Paris. Water features and new perspectives were introduced in the gardens. In the Napoleonic years the flowerbeds were decorated with marble vases and statues taken from the Reggia di Venaria. The gardens stretched above the ramparts and below the walls. In 1997, following the tragic fire that struck the Chapel of the Shroud, the Royal Gardens were closed to the public and only partially reopened in 2016, after a first renovation phase, which is still ongoing.