Welcome to Castello di Rivoli.

Welcome to Castello di Rivoli, Italy’s first Museum of Contemporary Art, which has been a point of reference for the national and international art world since its opening in 1984. At Castello di Rivoli, the ancient building welcomes contemporary art: an extraordinary encounter between past and present that makes the Museum unique in the world. The Collection features works by more than 200 artists and presents the history of art from the 20th century to the present day. The number of works is always growing and the display in the rooms varies over time.

The Castle, UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a splendid Baroque-era structure and a marvelous example of the “unfinished”, an uncompleted architecture that becomes the ideal metaphor for the contemporary art museum: a living, dynamic organism, constantly evolving.
Savoy residence from the 13th to the 19th Century, over time the Castle has undergone numerous modifications and major restoration projects. In particular, the building has two distinct parts: the Castle, the result of Filippo Juvarra’s unfinished project, and the Manica Lunga dating back to the 17th century. After a long period of neglect, in 1979 the Piedmont Region financed the restoration of the Castle, which was entrusted to Architect Andrea Bruno.
The restoration of the building considered its entire history, respecting its architecture and enhancing the parts where construction stopped. From the panoramic balcony inserted in the contemporary restoration, there is an exceptional panorama to admire, that includes the plain towards Turin, the Sacra di San Michele Abbey, and the arc of the Alps.

Entering through the main entrance, the Castle Building is on the left side, the Manica Lunga on the right side: go through the large mirrored door at the entrance of the Manica Lunga and you will find the Ticket Office. The Museum is accessible to people with mobility impairments by means of two ramps, one for the Castle Building and the other for the Manica Lunga. The reception staff in the Ticket Office and at the Castle Reception is available to help, if needed.

The Castle Building is developed on three exhibition floors. On the first and second floors, some of the rooms still retain the ancient decorations, stuccoes, and frescoes, which emphasize contemporary works. Inside the rooms, in fact, there are works from the Museum Collection and temporary exhibitions, with ever-changing and surprising arrangements.
The third floor of the Castle was destroyed during World War II. Architect Andrea Bruno restored the floor according to the rules of the “white cube”, which leave the spaces white and essential.
The Manica Lunga houses the major exhibitions of the Museum and various services. On the ground floor there are the Ticket Office, the Bookshop and the small room with the tactile model of the Castello di Rivoli, which was designed especially for blind and visually impaired people. The model, curated by the Education Department of the Museum in cooperation with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, is made of wood, by Architect Bruno’s studio.
On the first and second floors of the Manica Lunga there are the Cafeteria, the Library, the Castello di Rivoli Research Center (CRRI), and the Conference Room. On the third floor, in almost 150 meters of length, the space houses the major exhibitions organized by the Museum. A curiosity: already originally, when it was built in the 17th century, the structure was designed as a gallery to house the Savoy family’s art collection.
The many outdoor spaces surrounding the Museum also display a number of works from the Permanent Collection, an evocative open-air exhibition between art and nature.

The Education Department of the Museum is engaged in several research and innovation projects to promote accessibility for everyone. For this reason, it has published, together with the Turin Institute of the Deaf, the Dictionary of Contemporary Art in Sign Language, to enrich the LIS (Italian Sign Language) with 80 specific terms for the art world that were still missing: an internationally renowned project, launched in 2007. Thanks to the collaboration, which is still going on over the years with ever new initiatives, deaf people can feel “at home” at the Castello di Rivoli.
The text of this video is a renewed and updated version of the track that had been written formerly, together with a group of deaf students attending the Albe Steiner Institute of Turin and students of the Turin Institute of the Deaf. The students had created a video project together with the Education Department in the school setting: this has been one of the many outcomes of the path shared with the Institute of the Deaf for many years.
The Education Department is always available to organize tours dedicated to people with disabilities, with a special focus on the sensory character of the works of art and the wonderful indoor and outdoor spaces of the Museum. Contact us for more information b.manzardo@castellodirivoli.org  accessibility@castellodirivoli.org