The royal residence built for horses and leisure

In 1693, the site of the Castello della Mandria was known as Mandria Vecchia, a structure dedicated to breeding stud horses. Shortly after, the Duke of Savoy Vittorio Amedeo II commissioned the architect Michelangelo Garove to build a larger, more structured palace. The design was intended to serve both the breeding of horses and activities of leisure. After Garove's death in 1713, his successor Filippo Juvarra took over the project, adding a second courtyard by 1721.

By 1860, at the request of Vittorio Emanuele II, works began to enlarge and furnish the royal apartments. Under the direction of Ernesto Melano, the complex grew into a 35,000 square meter rectangle with three internal courtyards. During this period, the site also saw the construction of two hunting lodges and a garden designed for acclimatizing non-native animals. A fountain featuring a stone group by Vincenzo Vela, depicting a sea horse fighting a triton, was also installed in the first courtyard.

Following the death of Vittorio Emanuele II in 1878, the estate passed to his son Umberto I, who sold it to the Medici del Vascello family in the 1880s. After an unsuccessful attempt at farming, the new owners turned to horse breeding, creating a community of approximately 1,000 people. After World War II, portions of the land were sold for Fiat test tracks, golf courses, and a residential center.

In 1976, the Region of Piedmont acquired the castle and over 1,300 hectares of parkland, establishing the La Mandria Regional Park. Since 1997, the apartments and the gallery have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Royal Residences of Savoy. Today, the Borgo Castello della Mandria remains in a state of abandonment, as the restoration and transformation of the 19th-century buildings were interrupted and have not resumed.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons