In 1562, Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, moved his capital across the Alps from Chambéry (present-day France) to Turin. It was during this time that Turin, still very much a medieval city, began to take on its distinct Baroque character. Keen to demonstrate the House of Savoy’s power, the Duke and his successors commissioned some of the best architects of the day to build many opulent palaces, residences and hunting lodges in the city and the surrounding countryside.

After the unification of Italy in 1861 and the Savoy court’s relocation to the newly proclaimed capital in Rome in 1870, some of these architectural marvels fell into disuse in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Turin’s role as a former capital was largely forgotten and the city became better known as the centre of the country’s automobile industry.