The painting that depicts the Infanta of Spain Catalina Micaela, who wed Carlo Emanuele I in 1585, offers an interesting view of the background: the window reveals a glimpse of the east façade of the castle and of the gallery that joins it to the Ducal Palace, intended to host the princely collections. For many years this work was presented as a portrait of Maria of Savoy, the illegitimate daughter of Emanuele Filiberto, and its correct identification is due to a comparison with other portraits, in which the features of the duchess present an unquestionable resemblance.
For the event, the castle’s grand hall acted as the backdrop to the drama "Pastor fido" by Giambattista Guarini. Even though it still resembles a fortress, its defensive role is no longer predominant, given the construction of the Citadel, built by Francesco Paciotto for Emanuele Filiberto, which shifted the defense center, and the expansion of the city southward as ordered by Carlo Emanuele, equipping the exterior itinerary with new bastions. The castle is thus surrounded by the city compound and becomes a permanent residence for the family. The reigning duke moves into the new palace built by Emanuele Filiberto as a suitable location for himself and his wife, the royal princess of France, Marguerite of Valois. (Image: Archivio di Stato, Turin).
This precious instrument held at the Museum is the work of one of the most praised instrument makers in Milan, the younger brother and nephew of the celebrated Annibale de Rossi. Music, song, and dance were always present during celebrations, to accompany the dukes and duchesses. In particular, Piedmont’s music tradition was renewed after the arrival in Turin of Christine of France, in 1619, and the accounts of the treasurer begin to record not only the salaries of the musicians but also those of dance teachers, lute players, singers, and the personal chamber music quartet of the duchess, who invited them from Paris.
When Emanuele Filiberto moved his court from Chambéry to Turin, in 1563, as he was waiting to build his new residence he lived in the Bishop’s Palace, since the castle was in a dire state of decline. The old palace was prepared for the celebration of his child’s baptism, held on March 9, 1567, and described in the accounts of the age as “surrounded by all new architecture with reliefs on the ceiling, with figures, weapons, festoons, circles, squares, triangles, and other lovey drawings, all in gold with an azure background.” Tables for the banquet were installed (the picture shows some drawings for vases made for the occasion) and dancing went on into the night. (Image: Album Da Luigi, Biblioteca Reale, Turin)
When Turin with Piedmont, lost by Carlo II, fell to the French for roughly two decades, the castle was abandoned. The new rulers in the city lived in the so-called “Bishop’s House,” perhaps more to their liking or because the duke’s palace was emptied after the Savoy had left. The present-day ceiling of the Sala Staffarda bears some painted panels from the first floor of the Bishop’s Palace, located on Via Porta Palatina 20 and demolished in the late 1800s. In the castle the French dismantled the defensive system surrounding it, except the towers of Ludovico d'Acaia. With the success of Emanuele Filiberto at San Quintino (1557), the political liberation coincides with a renewal of the building.
Work during this era was mainly focused on moving the entrance to the axis of the castle and the court, with a renovation of the thick walls of the Roman gate. Remains that can be seen on the gate stile, open when access to the court took place centrally, indicate that the courtyard level was raised by at least 80 cm. At the same time at the middle of the courtyard a dry well was built for water disposal: this now emerges from the 15th-century chevron flooring but surely belonged to a later intervention. A massive structure resting against the south wall suggests that the 15th-century spiral staircase was no longer in use.
