PIEDMONT CHRONICLE - L'Arvista Piemontèisa

12/14/2007

The Villa - Library

The desire to see and feel new “things” (a fascinating term that means everything and its complete opposite, a little like the expectations of the real traveler) inspires who embraces the adventure of discovery and heads to places that might satisfy or disappoint him/her, but only after being there in person, beyond the filter of a possibly useful guide, a hearsay or even better a never heard hearsay.

Today vacations are also planned by surfing in the internet searching for big objectives or for less known places however meaningful to fully experience a city unknown to us.
A library is a place one won’t probably find in a tourist book.
There are few “things” associated with the concept of visit: libraries, supermarkets, cemeteries, just to make some extreme examples. Nonetheless, there are people who want to feel part of a community – during their short stay – and love browsing about, apparently without any objective but actually with the precise purpose to feel the pulse of the community through its daily life.
For example, entering a library means to feel one of the multiple cultural aspects of the city of Turin. It’s like going to Los Angeles and visit the downtown without visiting the majestic Los Angeles Public Library: you’ve missed something.
The same applies, in due proportion, in regard to Villa Amoretti Public Library, located on 200 Corso Orbassano (public transportation buses n.2, 5 and 58), not far from Santa Rita’s shrine ( a site not miss) and for who decides to visit the palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi (built as a royal hunting lodge), the library is approximately on the outward or return journey. In other words, it’s worth planning our own day including also half an hour or so for this short and relaxing visit, bearing in mind that the library is inside a park.
“Villa Amoretti” - according to website of the city of Turin - was built in the second half of the eighteenth century as a residence of the Amoretti family, whose founder Giambattista was an abbot of the Savoias. In the nineteenth century it was acquired by counts Rigon who redesigned the park. In 1970 the city council approved the purchase of both villa and park. In the early Seventies a preliminary restoration was carried out resulting in a radical renovation of many rooms. The library inside the villa was inaugurated on May 2, 1977. In the year 2000, the city of Turin started a renewal project and a multi-purpose requalification of the structure that comprised the works for a new pavilion, the recuperation and restoration of the orangery and the villa. On October 19 2005 the new pavilion and the orangery have been inaugurated while the villa has been inaugurated on February 23, 2007. The orangery, a splendid construction built between the Ottocento and Novecento to shelter citrus trees in the wintertime houses a collection of periodicals. The restoration and requalification works performed in the villa have have lead to a complete requalification of the historical building and its internal spaces”.
Internal spaces that will not leave the adult, young or very young visitor cold. In fact, the library is provided with a pleasant space for the little ones, where adults will revel about the magnificent frescoes that decorate the rooms and the big hall, an area used for “temporary Exhibits”.
Photographs are better than a thousand words!

Andrea Biscàro