• A walk in the
  Old Town Center
• All about the Old Town Center
  • History
  • Altessano
  • Ceronda
  • The "Corte Pagliere"
  • Palazzo Carignano
  • Piazza Annunziata
  • Church of the Nativity
  • Piazza Esedra
  • Via Maestra
  • The "Silk Lane"

 

THE PALACE OF THE PRINCES OF CARIGNANO AND THE BIRTHPLACE OF MICHELE LESSONA

The Palace of the Princes of Carignano, later known as “Infermeria Quadrupedi” (“Infirmary for Quadrupeds”), dates back to 1670 ca. and was part of the original project for the Via Maestra (today via Mensa) by Court Architect Amedeo di Castellamonte.

At the time the Palace had an L-shaped plan and the ground floor, in the wing nearest to the via, was used as a stable.

The building was commissioned by the Prince of Carignano Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy. Initially Court dignitaries were lodged here, while in the 18th century it became the seat of the 2nd Regiment of the Guards of His Royal Majesty.
This new use required enlargement works that would come to add two more wings, parallel to the existing ones, changing the original plan into the “closed court” that is still visible today.

In 1818 the building came to house the headquarters of the prestigious Royal Veterinary School directed by Carlo Lessona. On 20th September 1823 Michele Lessona was born here: he would later become a famous and decorated Senator of the Kingdom and the most illustrious inhabitant of Venaria.

Michele Lessona, decorated Senator of the Kingdom and the most illustrious inhabitant of Venaria
 

 

View of the Palace of the Princes of Carignano, on the right