Claudio’s nephew had an archery face-off in Venaria near Torino this Sunday. Normally these days are long and boring but when I heard where it was taking place, my ears perked up! If we could combine the archery game with visiting the Reggia di Venaria, it would be the perfect solution.
The Reggia di Venaria is just north of Torino and was a royal palace which dates back to the 16th and 17th century. It is said to be a mini Versailles. Everything is immense here. There are huge halls inside which are said to be the most beautiful part. Apparently all the furniture was stolen by Napoleon and further exploited during WWII. Napoleon destroyed the original gardens to create a square for his army. Thankfully, they have recently transformed it into a recreation of the original and have enriched it with numerous vegetable gardens and fruit orchards.
Since we had to split up our time between sports and culture, we decided to stay outside and enjoy the sun and visit the gardens. It was beautifully laid out and although there weren’t any colorful flowers yet, there were fun activities and demonstrations going on throughout the garden. I can’t wait to see the inside next time!
Um…what sort of demonstrations were going on exactly?
there were supposedly gardening demonstrations….we missed those though! too bad!