The Restoration and Conservation Centre
 

 

The Restoration And Conservation Centre

The building that once housed the Stables of the Reggia, covering a surface of almost 8,000 sq.m., is home since 2005 to the Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration Centre "La Venaria Reale", the third most important such centre in Italy after Rome and Florence.

The restoration of the former stables required an overall investment on the part of Regione Piemonte exceeding 13 million euros, including regional and European funds. Additionally 400,000 euros, granted by the Ministry for the Economy (CIPE funds) were spent to purchase the equipment and to furnish the facility. Regione Piemonte also purchased the nearby La Marmora Riding Track for around 500,000 euros, that will soon be restored and then handed over to the Center to host the Stones and Metals Laboratory.

The Center is managed by a non-profit Foundation established by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Activities, Regione Piemonte, the University of Turin, the Fondazione per l’Arte of the Compagnia di San Paolo, and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino. Other members have joined the original five founders, including the Turin Polytechnic, the Provincial Authority and the City of Turin, and the Town of Venaria Reale.

The Center is a restoration laboratory organized in specialized workshops, where restoration and other conservation works are carried out to benefit both the Founders of the Center and other parties, public and private alike. The Center also runs five scientific laboratories to run diagnostic tests and to provide technical and scientific assistance in matters of conservation and restoration.

The Center is also home to an Advanced Restoration School where students receive the theoretical and practical teachings to become professional restorers in the framework of University education. The school has started the first university degree to train restorers of the cultural heritage and cooperates with the Istituto Centrale del Restauro (Central Restoration Institute), the Opificio delle Pietre dure in Florence, and the Istituto Centrale per la Patologia del Libro (Book Conservation Institute).

The Center also encourages research projects and training activities and seeks to increase employment opportunities and income for professionals in the field of the management and maintenance of the cultural and environmental heritage, not only in Italy but on the international scene.

Hall door of the Restoration And Conservation Centre

 

Venaria Reale, Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration Centre 'La Venaria Reale', Alfieri’s Stables and Riding Ground