Genoa & Turin - Palaces and Galleries

• Two cities, often unaccountably overlooked. One, a leading republic of mediaeval Italy and birthplace of Columbus; the other developed on a grand scale in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Magnificent palaces and churches, from mediaeval to Baroque.
• Led by Dr Luca Leoncini, expert art historian specialising in 15th–17th-century Northern Italian paintings.
• Exceptional picture collections with particularly fine examples of Van Dyck and Rubens.

INTRO

ITINERARY

DETAILS

GALLERY

PRE & POST

NTRODUCTION

Church of Superga, outside Turin, late-19th-century wood engraving.

‘Secret cities’ would have been an absurd subtitle for two such major places, but did seem to suggest itself because of the rarity with which Britons find themselves there. But every art lover should go.

The prevailing images are perhaps still predominantly commercial and industrial, but not only do both Genoa and Turin have highly attractive centres but both are distinguished by the preservation of a large number of magnificent palaces and picture collections.

Genoa lays claim to the largest historic centre of any European city. It was one of the leading maritime republics of mediaeval Italy (with Marseilles it remains the largest port in the Mediterranean), and enjoyed a golden age during the seventeenth century. In the 1990s civic improvements and building restorations were undertaken to prepare the city for celebrations connected with the quincentenary of Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas, and the cultural momentum has continued.

In the earlier seventeenth century, Genoa was artistically the equal of almost anywhere in Italy except for Rome and Naples. More than any other Italian school of painting, the Genoese was indebted to the Flemish school: Rubens made a prolonged visit to Genoa in 1605 and Anthony Van Dyck was based there from 1621 to 1627. Many of his paintings remain here.

Turin, the leading city of Piedmont, was formerly capital of Savoy and later of the kingdom of Sardinia. Developed on a grand scale in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the historic centre is laid out on a regular plan with broad avenues and spacious piazze. Architecture is mainly Baroque and classical. Guarino Guarini and Filippo Juvarra, among the best architects of their time, worked here for much of their lives.

ITINERARY

DAY 1

Genoa. Fly at c. 10.35am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Milan Linate. In the afternoon see palaces in the Via Balbi, one of the grandest streets in Europe, including the Palazzo Reale which has a magnificent stairway, splendidly furnished rooms and a fine collection of pictures. First of three nights in Genoa.

DAY 2

Genoa. Visit some of the main monuments of mediaeval Genoa. The Cathedral of S. Lorenzo, built 12th–16th centuries, possesses many works of art and a fine treasury. Palazzo Spinola has good pictures, Van Dycks in particular. Visit the church of S. Luca with its beautifully decorated interior and the churches of Il Gesù and San Donato.

DAY 3

Genoa. See the Via Garibaldi, lined with magnificent palazzi, most from the 16th century. Palazzo Rosso has fine furnishings and excellent pictures. See also the adjacent church of the Annunciation, the Villa del Principe with Perin del Vaga frescoes and the Piazza S. Matteo, formed by the imposing palaces of the Doria family, which overshadow the small family church of S. Matteo. Free time in the afternoon. Possible visits include the refashioned dock area (architect: Renzo Piano).

DAY 4

Cherasco, Turin. Leave Genoa and take a cross-country route through the beautiful countryside and wine-producing area of Le Langhe. Stop in Cherasco which has a 14th-century Visconti castle for a typical Piedmontese lunch. See the magnificent royal hunting lodge of Stupinigi (Filippo Juvarra, 1730) en route to Turin. First of three nights in Turin.

DAY 5

Turin. A morning walk through beautiful Piazza S. Carlo, with arcades and 18th-century churches. Visit the Royal Palace, built 1660, with wonderful interiors from the 17th–19th centuries, and the Galleria Sabauda, housed in the Palace, an excellent picture collection. In the afternoon visit the little church of S. Lorenzo, a Guarini masterpiece, the cathedral (with Guarini’s Chapel of the Holy Shroud under restoration for the foreseeable future), and the sumptuous Consolata church.

DAY 6

Turin. Visit the votive church of Superga, a magnificent hilltop structure by Juvarra, and the Pinacoteca Giovanni and Marella Agnelli at Lingotto which has a small but excellent quality collection in a building designed by Renzo Piano. Some free time in Turin.

DAY 7

Turin, Venaria. Morning visit to the Palazzo Madama in the centre of Piazza Castello, now housing the City Art Museum. Outside Turin is the magnificent royal palace of Venaria (Amedeo Castellamonte, 1659) reopened in 2007 following extensive renovation work. Fly from Turin, returning to Gatwick c. 5.45pm.