Venaria, the Water Theater will soon come back to life. Relocated the monumental Hercules

Relocated to its original position in the center of the large fountain is the monumental statue of Hercules in the Gardens of the Reggia di Venaria. The sculpture was a central element of the Water Theater designed and built by Amedeo da Castellamonte between 1669 and 1672, which has been the subject of a major restoration and enhancement project since 2018. The intervention is promoted and supported by the Turin Council, together with Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni, Iren, Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude, AVTA-Associazione Venariese Tutela Ambiente-Amici della Reggia di Venaria-and will return to visitors the last missing piece of the Reggia Gardens Complex, fourteen years after its reopening.

Made of Frabosa marble in 1670 by Luganese sculptor Bernardo Falconi, the statue of Hercules stood out among the more than three hundred stone artifacts that decorated the splendid Baroque Machine, designed for the festivities and amusements of the court. The pleasant setting where performances accompanied by water games, music and entertainment took place will be re-presented to the public, thanks in part to the use of new technologies.

The statue of Hercules Colossus, kept in the storerooms of Turin’s Palazzo Madama, had been on display since 2015 in the Reggia’s High Gardens thanks to a thorough restoration promoted and supported by the Consulta Members. After being closed due to the health emergency, restoration work resumed about two months ago. The statue was carefully moved by a large crane, laid with the utmost caution on a balance truck, exited the Gardens through the Juvarra parking lots and re-entered through the entrance on Viale Carlo Emanuele II, to be finally placed in the center of the fountain’s large basin.

The inauguration is expected by summer 2021.

“The return of the majestic statue of Hercules to the center of its Fountain represents an exciting event, but also a further step toward the conclusion of the more general program of recovery of the complex which, we are convinced, will constitute a new powerful element of attraction and appeal for La Venaria Reale: for this we again thank all the actors who are the protagonists and promoters of this ambitious project,” said Paola Zini and Guido Curto, president and director consortium of the Royal Residences of Savoy.

Venaria, the Water Theater will soon come back to life. Relocated the monumental Hercules

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