Parco di Stupinigi

The castle, known as Castelvecchio, is a Late Middle Ages fortified building. The Acaja line of the House of Savoy originally lived in the place, then sold it in 1439 to Marquis Rolando Pallavicino. In 1563, the property was ceded to Emanuele Filiberto, when he moved the capital of the Duchy of Savoy from Chambèry to Turin. He then offered Stupinigi to the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. Unlike the Castle of Rivoli, architect Juvarra did not try to include Castelvecchio in the Stupinigi hunting lodge design; on the contrary, parts of it were demolished in 1735, and its rooms were used as warehouses and flats for rental until 1776, when the building was restored and refurbished.