Located on the banks of the Po River and spread over 550,000 sq.m., Parco del Valentino is the city’s most popular park. Its interior houses numerous treasures including the Castello del Valentino, a UNESCO world heritage site and a part of the circuit of the Royal Residences of Turin and Piedmont, the Medieval Village and Castle, and the Botanical Gardens (1729).

Built in the 16th century, the Castello del Valentino is located in the green heart of Turin’s 19th-century park, overlooking the banks of the Po River. It was a suburban riverside residence in the 1500s, which reached its height of splendour under Christine of France, who chose it as her “Maison de Plaisance”, enlarging it according to French tastes and refurbishing the opulent decorations of the rooms on the piano nobile.

Over time, the Castello del Valentino was used for different purposes: a veterinary school during the French period, a barrack in 1824, the Royal School of Application for Engineers in 1859, and finally the headquarters of the Politecnico di Torino’s Faculty of Architecture.

An area of 27,000 square meters located to the left of the castle is occupied by a Botanical Garden. Founded in 1729 by Vittorio Amedeo, it houses numerous rare plants and greenhouses, a herbarium and a library containing ancient botanical prints.