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.

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Details

Founded: 1777-1780
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Italy

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

A “RC” C (13 months ago)
I passed by in the zone of Monza and I saw this wonderful villa . It’s a historical building since 18th century and one of the largest enclosed park in Europe Italy. It’s entrance free at the park where you can walk by with green natures. While entering inside has a payment. It’s very relaxing and fresh air around. Must visit
Michael O Brien (14 months ago)
Visited the Villa Reale di Monza today with my partner and our child. It is a fantastic place to go for a walk on a nice day. There are lots of different routes around the park. There is also loads of wildlife, there was fish, squirrels and geese. There were also cafés in the villa. I would highly recommend for a family looking for something to do with kids
Matteo Frosi (2 years ago)
Even if it is an amazing day in terms of weather we enjoyed the place. The visit lasted 2 hours and we appreciated very much 4 guides that helped us to understand better the history of the place. Very recommended ?
Marco G83 (2 years 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 (2 years 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!
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