Royal Villa of Monza, Monza, Italy

The Royal Villa (Villa Reale) lies on the banks of the Lambro, surrounded by the large Monza Park, one of the largest enclosed parks in Europe. It was originally built by Giuseppe Piermarini between 1777 and 1780, when Lombardy was part of Austrian Empire, for the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria.

Following the establishment of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the building was used as a Royal Palace and became home to the Viceroy of Italy, Eugène de Beauharnais. With the fall of the First Empire (1815), Austria annexed the Italian territories to the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, Monza being included in the province of Milan.

In 1861, when the new Kingdom of Italy was established, the building became a palace of the Italian Royal Family of Savoia. The Royal Villa was abandoned by the royal family in 1900, after the murder of King Humbert I near the entrance as he returned from an event.

The palace complex includes the Royal Chapel, the Cavallerizza (horse-shed), the Rotonda dell'Appiani, the Teatrino di Corte ('Small Court Theatre') and the Orangerie. The rooms at the first floor include grand salons and halls, and the Royal apartments of King Humbert I of Italy and of Queen Margherita of Savoy. In front of the palace are the Royal gardens, designed by Piermarini as English landscape gardens.

In the first floorthere are the reception roomsand the apartments of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita.The front of villa facing east opens to English Gardens designed by Piermarini.

References:

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User Reviews

Marco G83 (4 months ago)
Beautiful ancient royal residence where to spend a relaxing couple of hours in Monza. Entry fee is €10 bookable online or at the counter. Those days the garden was not available for site visit probably due to some trees brought down by storms, but still worth the experience. I would have preferred guided tours all along the rooms of the villa instead of just an introduction.

Arica (8 months ago)
Great Tourist Destination. Perfect for a day out. Amazing place to explore and stunning architecture and the nature. You can enjoy and appreciate the place inside and out. Highly recommended!

Tiziana Locatelli (9 months ago)
Imposing and sumptuous villa, a few steps from the historic center of Monza. For a few seconds it seems to be in another era. The external visit as well as that of the gardens is free. A visit is worth the trip

Ivan Artemiev (11 months ago)
Very beautiful place. Make sure to go inside, it's open on weekends.

Luke (16 months ago)
A very nice place to walk around and admire, it has a huge garden. A cafe on ground floor with seating inside and outside. I wouldn't go out my way to visit unless you are already in Monza.

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