Oh dear! Italy and its serial World Heritage Sites: 14 Savoy Residences, 9 Sacri Monti, 25 Palladio sites, 14 Medici Villas, 7 Longobards locations… Not to mention all the prehistoric and nuragic sites in Sardinia or the countless historic theatres of the Marche region still waiting on the tentative list. Of course it's not just Italy, many countries have this kind of WHS where I would say: Less would be more. But the north-west corner of Italy seems to be a hotspot for this. On my trip through Lombardy and Piedmont in June 2023 I couldn't help but think of our friend Iain and his rule that he doesn't tick off a WHS until he has visited 50% + 1 locations. WHS hunting can be challenging, even in Central Europe.
That said, I have to admit that I visited 12 of the 14 locations, but most of them only from the outside. I travelled by rental car, so it was far less time-consuming than by public transport. The majority of the palaces around Turin are more or less on the way to or from other WHS.

Visiting European palaces is not one of my favourite activities when travelling. But you can hardly visit a WHS like the Savoy Residences properly without stepping into at least one of them. I ended up visiting the interiors of three palaces. As with most visitors, my first choice was the Musei Reali in the Command Area in Turin. The Command Area is a complex of contiguous buildings which, in addition to the state rooms, also houses museums, an armoury and a library. It is large and it would take hours to visit each part in detail. But there is nothing extraordinary to see, nothing I haven't seen before, and often better somewhere else. So I walked through the rooms rather quickly and a little bored.
In the other two palaces in the city centre, the staircase (Palazzo Madama) and the brick façade in the courtyard (Palazzo Carignano) have been highlighted by previous reviewers. And rightly so. Both are accessible without paying the entrance fee of the museums.

In Turin, I also visited Villa della Regina, mainly because of the supposedly beautiful gardens (upper photo). Well, I wasn't that impressed. Nor by the interiors. The best moment was the view of the front façade with the striking staircase.

And thirdly, the Reggia di Venaria Reale. Initially, I only wanted to see the gardens, but then I decided to visit the interiors as well. I arrived there in the late afternoon just before closing time and had the palace almost to myself (the gardens are open longer). The centrepiece is the Galleria Grande (lower photo). It's not as magnificent as the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, though it's a few metres longer. And certainly one of the few things I will remember about the Savoy WHS.

A plus point of this WHS is that the palaces are very different, a variety of architectural styles. The official website shows short films with great aerial views of all palaces, but from the ground perspective it is often less impressive. All in all, there are only a few highlights and too little that stays in memory.
I rated this WHS 1.5 stars, probably too low for many other visitors. But my rating also takes into account the way a site is presented. At the Savoy Residences, I missed a visitor centre where you can find information about the individual palaces: what purpose they were built for, how important they were to the power of the Savoy dynasty, how they were related to each other etc. An info point where a visitor can get an overview of the WHS and decide which location is worth a visit, without reading the nomination file or going through the entire website. Why isn't that possible? You have 14 huge palaces with countless rooms. Even in the Command Area in Turin there would be enough space, there are abandoned parts of the complex within the core zone that would benefit from a new use and a refurbishment.

I was in Turin for a scientific meeting and was able to extend the trip to visit all the WHS in the region. I liked Turin, the Egyptian Museum and the Mole Antonelliana have already been mentioned by other reviewers, I can confirm these recommendations. Our meeting took place in the Lingotto building, once the Fiat car factory, now a multifunctional complex. I also stayed at the hotel there. On the top floor of the building there is an art gallery (Agnelli Collection) and you can also visit the former test track on the rooftop.

As already mentioned, European palaces are not my favourite WHS. However, there are exceptions where I have thoroughly enjoyed my visit - Sintra, Potsdam, Fontainebleau, to name a few. But the Savoy residences are certainly not on this list.