{"id":30510,"date":"2026-04-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beculture.it\/?p=30510"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T11:27:24","slug":"palazzo-madama-turin-what-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beculture.it\/en\/palazzo-madama-turin-what-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Palazzo Madama in Turin, an enchanting museum in the heart of the city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An ancient Roman gate, a medieval fortress, a princely castle and the seat of the first Senate of the Kingdom of Italy: Palazzo Madama<\/a> in Turin, located in the very central Piazza Castello, has housed the collections of the Museo Civico since 1934. Across four floors, artefacts and works ranging from the Middle Ages to the<\/strong> Baroque period<\/strong><\/a> recount the history of art and craftsmanship in the region.
Let\u2019s explore together the rooms of this enchanting museum \u2013 one of the most elegant buildings in the city \u2013 and take a closer look at some particularly curious and significant objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The medieval Lapidarium and the Desana Treasure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Archaeology, as we know, is full of surprises and unexpected twists. This is well demonstrated by many examples, including the Fran\u00e7ois vase<\/a>, the Greek krater preserved in the Museo Archeologico of Florence<\/a>. Less adventurous yet equally astonishing is the story of the Desana Treasure<\/strong>, discovered by chance by a farmer in the countryside of Vercelli in the 1930s and now displayed in the medieval Lapidarium on the underground level.
Here, inside the evocative Torre dei Tesori, gold jewellery set with precious stones and finely decorated silver tableware <\/strong>shine once more after centuries of abandonment. But to whom did these refined objects belong, and why were they hidden beneath a thick layer of soil? Historical reconstruction has allowed scholars to identify the original owners: Stefanus, a Roman, and Valatruda, an Ostrogoth \u2013 a wealthy mixed couple who lived between the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Within the collection, characterised by artefacts of different styles and origins, two brooches from the 5th century<\/strong> stand out \u2013 probably part of Valatruda\u2019s dowry \u2013 made of gold with cloisonn\u00e9 enamels<\/strong> and glass paste, a type of craftsmanship typical of northern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dowry enjoyed only briefly, since the newly married couple were soon forced to flee due to the looming Gothic War. Before leaving, however, they wisely buried their wealth in the garden of their villa, hoping to retrieve it at a later time. And it is precisely there that they remained until their recent discovery.
The Desana Treasure, therefore, is not only a spectacular testament to medieval craftsmanship \u2013 which, despite common prejudice, is in no way inferior to that of the Renaissance \u2013 but also the tangible fragment of a human story<\/strong> that would otherwise have been lost.<\/p>\n\n\n