Palazzo Muratori Cravetta

Palazzo Muratori Cravetta is located on the road known as ‘Jerusalem Street’, formerly referred to as the ‘via picta’ because of the decorated and painted façades that once served as the backdrop for processions between the Collegiate Church of St. Andrew and the Church of St. Dominic.

The Palazzo is the outcome of the amalgamation of three previously separate and neighbouring aristocratic residences belonging to the Corvo, Tapparelli and Muratori families. The buildings were consolidated by Giovanni Francesco I Cravetta, the first President of the Ducal Senate. The architectural design is credited to Ercole Negri di Sanfront, who skilfully integrated the medieval structures into a harmonious ensemble in the classical style.

The Cravetta family purchased the palazzo between 1603 and 1611, intending it to serve as a temporary residence for royalty. The building was therefore designed to be representative and to be used solely for certain regal occasions, with a grand courtyard enclosed on all four sides and a single, easily monitored entrance. The courtyard was thus created as a sort of ‘hortus conclusus’, or enclosed space, with no direct access onto the main street, in keeping with its Renaissance and Mannerist origins.

The palazzo’s archives record several notable visitors: the King of France, Francis I, stayed at the residence in 1515, Emperor Charles V was a guest in 1536, Emanuel Philibert of Savoy and his wife Margaret of Valois were hosted in 1560, and Charles Emmanuel I and Catherine of Austria stopped there overnight on their journey from Nice to Turin during their honeymoon in 1585.

The courtyard of honour
The courtyard of honour is a striking example of late Renaissance Piedmont architecture, with paintings, sculptures and architecture all blending together harmoniously to create a classical-style space alongside the Italian garden.

In 1630, Duke Charles Emmanuel I passed away in a room on the ground floor, attended by his subject and confidant Alessandro III Cravetta. This room is particularly notable for its superb coffered ceiling, decorated with approximately 160 painted panels featuring the coats of arms of noble families and personages, as well as animals and scenes of everyday life, which retain a distinctly medieval flavour.