Many fascinating attractions, the Rock Garden, the Medieval Village, the Castle, the Botanical Garden, the Fountains. Furthermore, Express Train, Luna Park, Boat Tour on the Po, cycle paths, walks and sports and leisure opportunities.
The Valentino Park, along the banks of the Po, the green lung of the city and a meeting place for the people of Turin. Its name seems to derive from the young martyr Valentino, patron saint of lovers.
A quiet place to take a walk, relax, read a book in the shade of a tree or to visit the numerous attractions present.
The Attractions
– Medieval Village
Faithful reconstruction of a feudal village as it must have been in the 15th century. It was created in 1884 as a section of ancient art for the Italian General Exhibition, taking inspiration from fifteenth-century Piedmontese and Aosta Valley buildings, furnishings and decorations, to explain and teach the Gothic style.
Of the artisan workshops the iron and the printing shop, but walking along the zigzag street allows you to always admire new and evocative views.
The part at river level is freely accessible accessible, while the Fortress and the Garden can be visited for a fee.
Medieval fortress
It is the focal point of the village, in an elevated position compared to the rest of the village.
This fortified residence, with fifteenth-century furniture, fabrics and furnishings, the soldiers’ armor and the private chapel, serves to illustrate the customs of noble life in the fifteenth century.
Guided tours lead to the discovery of this ancient world.
Website info (Medieval Village and Fortress)
– Valentino Castle
Also home to the Faculty of Architecture of the Polytechnic of Turin.
The Castle was actually born as Villa Fluviale at the behest of Royal Madame Maria Cristina di Borbone.
Later, it was remodeled for the exhibition of 1858 in the eclectic style popular at the time.
With the four Corner Towers that close a horseshoe-shaped building, it has a French Baroque style façade and a terracotta one.
The frescoes of the Central Hall and the Hunting Hallare the original ones, as is the black and white pebble floor of the external courtyard.
It can be visited for free through guided tours by reservation and subject to availability.
The free visit includes: the internal rooms, including those on the main floor with the seventeenth-century frescoes, the column room with the six sturdy breccia columns and the chapel on the ground floor.
Website info (Castello del Valentino)
– Botanical Garden
It is one of the most important study centers in Italy, with seven hundred thousand specimens of plants and flowers, a beautiful late 19th century Arboretum and a library with valuable magazines and volumes.
It also hosts a university beekeeping project which allows you to purchase excellent honey.
Guided tours for individuals and unorganized groups included in the entrance ticket and take place on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays; lasted about an hour.
Entrance to the Garden for an independent walk is however permitted without reservationonly during the period open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays. Closed during the winter season
Website info (Botanical Garden)
– The Rock Garden
Fenced green area and most sought after attraction within the large Valentino park.
A very well-kept garden where you can admire streams, waterfalls, fountains, a certain number of exotic and rare plants, various monuments and sculptures with strange and bizarre shapes, and with a bit of luck you can meet squirrels.
A truly pleasant and romantic place where you can enjoy a walk or a bit of relaxation in the greenery, perhaps sitting on one of the many benches scattered everywhere.
Walking along the avenues of this delightful garden you can take advantage of discovering a path aimed at learning about numerous plants and flowers including over 200 exotic specimens, both arboreal and shrubby, of which you can read scientific names, histories and specificities on the plates made available along the path itself.
In addition to the many species of flowers and plants present, inside the Rock Garden you can also find many sculptures and installations.
One of the prettiest and most romantic is certainly the “Bench in Love“, a sculpture depicting a bench on which two lampposts are sitting and seem to be embracing.
This work, like the others that you will find inside the park are by the now famous gardener-artist of Turin who for years has embellished various green corners of the city with his creations.
Equipped with a multisensory path, also known as a “for all” path, designed for blind people and those with vision problems.
The descriptive tables scattered along the route also present the description in Braille to allow people with visual difficulties to benefit from the explanations and presentations of the various attractions of the Rock Garden.
– Fountain of the Months (Fountain of the 12 Months)
A mixture of Art Nouveau and Rococo styles composed of an oval basin on which four groups of statues rest.
Each of these represents one of the rivers that bathe the cities (Po, Stura, Dora and Sangone).
The terrace is also enriched by 12 Statues which allegorically depict the Months (hence the name)
The Legend
It is said that the fountain stands in the place where Phaethon, son of the God of the Sun, fell after taking over his father’s chariot and causing the horses to run amok. Phaeton fell right into the Po river where centuries later the Romans founded the city of Augusta Taurinorum.
– Luminous Fountain
a fountain with water features, synchronized plays of light and music
– A Submarine … in the Park
Inside the Valentino Park, “parked” on the bank of the Po near Ponte Isabella, there is one of the few historical-naval finds of significant dimensions left in Italy.
This is the submarine Andrea Provana, named in honor of the Piedmontese admiral who participated in the battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Not all of submarine, but only the “turret” of the “Andrea Provana”, exposed on the bank of the Po.
During the 1928 world exhibition the central section of the submarine, including the turret, was placed in Turin, in front of the Royal Navy pavilion.
Once the exhibition was concluded, the turret of the Provana submarine was granted to the ANMI of Turin, which placed it, in 1933, in the Valentino Park, near its headquarters (viale Marinai d’Italia 1), where it still stands today.
Free visit by booking
Website info (Sommergibile Provana)
– Villino Honeysuckle
Bizarre little house that seems to come out of a classic fairy tale.
Currently Centre for various services dedicated to the communityand other third sector bodies: a supportive co-working space focused on the principles of sharing, where those who can offer time and skills meet with those who need help with their project.
– Promoter of Fine Arts
Exhibition Venue Temporary Exhibitionswith the aim of promoting the art and artists of the moment in Turin, through exhibitions of their works
Facebook page (Promotrice delle Belle Arti)
– For the entertainment of children
Play Area available to citizens with a combination with slide and climbing, playhouse, spring games, swings separated by age groups.
Baby Luna Park with various rides
Valentino Express train, a new way to explore the park. The tour lasts about 20 minutes, with explanations in both Italian and English.
Website info (Luna Park and Train)
-Navigation on the Po from Valentino Park
Two boats named “Valentino” and “Valentina” (destroyed in 2016) which should return to sailing.
Navigation offers tourists the opportunity to explore the Po river and appreciate its beauty with audio guides and videos that tell the story of the river.
Website info (Navigation from Valentino Park)
– Bicycle rental
Bike rental: opening hours: from the beginning of June to the end of September, every weekday from Tuesday to Friday inclusive, from 4.30pm to 7.30pm, every day before holidays and holidays from 11am to 8pm. Closed on Mondays.
Location: Valentino Park, car park entrance of the V Pavilion of Turin Exhibitions
Website info (Bike Rental)
– Cycle Paths
A cycle path connects the Valentino park to the north, along the Po, with the municipality of San Mauro and to the south, passing through the Vallere park, with the municipality of Nichelino and the Stupinigi park. If you want, you can always continue on quiet, signposted roads up to Pinerolo.
Flora and Fauna
The park is the perfect place for various species of birds to stay, from gray herons to mallards and moorhens.
The rock garden, among streams and fountains, contains over 200 species of exotic plants, which join the sequoias, elms, centuries-old oaks and other tree species that enliven this splendid green area.
Valentino Park
Corso Massimo d’Azeglio
Turin
Piedmont – Italy
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