Around the Palazzo and the Museo Egizio

The Museo Egizio is world’s the oldest museum devoted entirely to ancient Egyptian culture that is also one of the finest in the world, after Cairo's, because it houses what Napoleon plundered from Egypt and Turin got after his downfall. Those artifacts brought to Turin started an age of exploration that expanded the collection. A bit of trivia: Italian archeologists were also inspired to explore Egypt by the sculptured head of a woman found in Turin that had unusual, hieroglyphic-like markings on it. However, it turned out the head wasn't ancient at all, but by then teams were enthusiastically digging in Egypt and bringing more finds back. Hightlights for us included items from the tombs of non-royals and original burial linen dresses or tunics thousands of years old.

The Palazzo Reale di Torino (Royal Palace) is a historic palace of the House of Savoy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernized by Christine Marie of France (1606–1663) in the 17th century, with designs by the Baroque architect Filippo Juvarra. (Juvarra designed churches and other buildings in Turin. The street bearing his name was right near our hotel.) The palace also includes the Palazzo Chiablese and the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, the latter of which was built to house the famous Shroud of Turin.