Palazzo del Carretto di Gorzegno is located in Turin, on a rectangular block historically known as Isola dell’Assunta, which was built during the second half of the 17th century. The Palazzo’s central location, in Via Bogino 16, allows guests to reach most of Turin’s sights on foot. The Palazzo is in a neighbourhood with many aristocratic homes, whose rich décor has survived intact in numerous rooms, entrances, and façades, testifying to a style of living closely associated with the nobility.
The Palazzo was built by Francesco Giacinto Gallinati and was completed in 1689. In 1768 it was purchased by Marchese Carlo Tete del Carretto di Gorzegno, who commissioned further work, including the extension of his apartments on the piano nobile, featuring several fine floors, in particular a parquet one with panel design and some Barge quartzite floors.
The décor of the old Palazzo del Carretto di Gorzegno is very fine, with stuccowork, gilding, stonework, painted and frescoed walls, and polychrome coffered ceilings. Historical research and restoration have revealed that the most important stages in the building’s construction and decoration coincide with three specific periods. The divisions of the façade and the wooden ceilings with some of the precious polychrome decorations date from the time of the original construction at the end of the 17th century. The successive transformations, almost a century later, certainly involved the demolition of several wooden floors; and the dynamic polychrome stuccowork in the lobby may also date from this time. Finally, the sumptuous decorative scheme of several rooms, characterized by gilded stuccowork, mantelpieces, wooden panelling, and mirrors, dates from the second half of the 19th century.