Venaria Reale

Venaria Reale () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Venaria Reale borders the municipalities of Robassomero, Caselle Torinese, Druento, Borgaro Torinese, Turin, Pianezza, and Collegno.

Founded in Roman times and previously known as Altessano (''Autsan'' in the Piedmontese language), it was divided into Altessano Superiore and Altessano Inferiore in the sixteenth century. The upper town was chosen by the House of Savoy as a location for a hunting palace, and its modern name is derived from the Latin for hunting, ''ars venatoria.''

It is the only Piedmontese municipality, in addition to Turin, to be able to boast on its territory the presence of more than one Savoy residence: the seventeenth century Royal Palace of Venaria (included in the UNESCO Heritage List in 1997) and the nineteenth-century royal apartments of Borgo Castello, located in La Mandria Regional Park.

The historical center of the commune was built by Amedeo di Castellamonte in 1667–1690 as a scenic background for the Royal Palace

A 19th-century distinguished citizen of Venaria Reale was Michele Lessona, an illustrious scientist and decorated Senatore del Regno. Provided by Wikipedia