Castello della Mandria: La Bizzarrìa Hunting Lodge

Northwest of Turin lies Castello della Mandria, a royal castle of the House of Savoy. With its various residences and buildings spread throughout the extensive park, now designated as a nature reserve, the ensemble is one of the most outstanding sights of the region, along with the palace of Venaria Reale, and has therefore also been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

The villa shown here, known regionally as La Bizzarrìa, is in fact one of two extravagant hunting lodges built in the eclectic style by King Victor Emmanuel II around 1861.

La Bizzarrìa corresponds in its function to a typical belvedere, as was common in royal hunting grounds of the 19th century. The architectural eye-catcher is the nine-cornered ground plan with three cylindrical towers at the vertices, extending over three levels. On two sides are open staircases with access to a circumferential columned terrace. The centerpiece is the hall decorated with frescoes and a skylight. The unused building has been the setting for various Italian TV productions and has been repeatedly secured in recent years, but is still awaiting full restoration.

The no less picturesque and renovated Villa dei Laghi is located further northwest in the forest on an artificial island. It is used for administrative and scientific purposes and is open to the public only on selected dates.

At the end of the 1970's, the Piedmont Region acquired the Castello della Mandria together with the more than 1300 hectares of woodland and created La Mandria Regional Park, the first park of its kind in Italy, which with its seemingly endless perimeter wall is considered the largest national park in Europe. Due to the special flora and fauna with many protected species, a visit is subject to strict rules. For example, access is only possible in a few places, and dogs are not allowed.

Parts of the castle can be visited today, renovation work is still ongoing in 2023.

"La Bizzarrìa": Main view from the south