Castello di Rivoli, Andrea Bruno 

The first document related to the Castle of Rivoli is dated from 1159. In the mid-16th Centuries, Emanuel Filiberto asked a military engineer to re-arrange the building, which was therefore more accommodated to host military garrison than the court of the duke.

Around 1600, following the plans of Carle di Castellamonte, an art gallery, La Manica Lunga , was led under construction (and nearly finished) to expose the art acquisitions of Emanuele Filiberto.

The Castle was destroyed during a war and rebuilt by Juvarra during the 18th Century. With time, the Castle went to rack and ruin, and renovation plan started in 1960’s, under the direction of Andrea Bruno. According to him, one of the hardest works of an architect is to find the right balance between past and present – do not forget the past and put it in value, but do not refuse to move forward with your time.

Following this way of thinking, the goal of Andrea Bruno during this restoration plan, was to leave the castle as unfinished as Juvarra left it, leave the stones as if there were stuck in time, use materials that could give the impression of « reversibility » in order not to distinguish the actual man workshop from the former one.

However, facilities have been added to primer construction, mostly in order to relate past to present. For instance, an elevator has been placed where a stair case was planned to be but never put under construction, a panoramic door on the west wall now allows visitors to see the floor plan from above as a tribute to Juvarra and his prince’s ambition, and other public services and roof slabs have been added to La Manica Lunga.

Concerning La Manica Lunga, what catches the eye is that this restoration is a rare case of one giving back to the nuclei, it’s original goal: an art gallery.

References: 

• Andrea Bruno, Il Castello di Rivoli: 1734-1984. Storia di un recupero, Edizione Allemandi, Torino, 1984
• AA.VV., Restauro e Cemento in Architettura, Associazion italiana tecnico economica del cemneto, Roma, 1984
• M. Mastropietro, Oltre il resturo. Architettura tra conservazione e riuso. Progetti realizzazioni di Andrea Bruno (1960-1995), Edizione Libra Immagine, Mmilano, 1996
• N. Bosco, Andrea Bruno: Tecniche esecutive e dettagli progettuali, Edizione CLUP, Milano, 2000

Authors: 

Oljer Cardenas, Victor Fernandes de Almeida Moreira, Louise Pacaut, Adriaan Vandaele.