The Royal Holidays

When holidays became trendy, the court started spending long periods in cosy country residences surrounded by greenery, such as the Castle of Govone, famous for its eighteenth-century garden that houses numerous varieties of roses and a rare species of wild tulip, the Castle of Agliè, whose frescoed ballroom and the series of perfectly preserved ancient rooms make the residence a triumph of elegance and splendour, the Castle of Racconigi, with its extraordinary romantic park and the elegant intimacy of the apartments of the Castle of La Mandria. The Pollenzo Estate, the current seat of the University of Gastronomic Sciences, was turned into a farm with vineyards and cellars, while the Castle of Valcasotto was transformed from a Carthusian monastery into a hunting lodge, combining the simplicity of the former convent with the monumental style that characterised the House of Savoy.