Enfilade

Installation view of Giardini: L’arte di vivere la natura nel Settecento.

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Now on view in Turin at the Palazzo Madama:

Gardens: The Art of Experiencing Nature in the 18th Century

Palazzo Madama, Torino, 15 July 2026 — 6 January 2027

Curated by Clelia Arnaldi di Balme

The exhibition offers an evocative stroll through the gardens of the 18th century, when the relationship between humankind and nature gave rise to extraordinary landscape designs. Through a selection of drawings, botanical tables, and engravings, the exhibition traces the evolution of taste and social customs through the century.

It begins with the geometric rigour of the Italian garden, a model of power widespread throughout Europe—here evoked by the architectural design of the Savoy royal residences described by Antonio de Pienne—before exploring the symbolic dimension of green spaces in the 18th-century theatre, as documented by the exquisite set designs by Filippo Juvarra and the brothers Bernardino and Fabrizio Galliari for the court theatres of Turin.

The exhibition explores the complex hydraulic engineering and levelling works required to create these gardens, as in Juvarra’s monumental project for the Luigi Mansi’s villa a Segromigno. Engravings by Ignazio Sclopis depict social life in the open air, with concerts and games in the park at Stupinigi. The journey concludes with a shift towards the romantic sensibility of the English-style garden theorised by Francesco Bettini, the exotic fascination with the Chinese gardens of the Qing dynasty, and the scientific research documented by the exquisite botanical watercolours of Lorenzo Freylino.

Visitors will also be able to admire the refurbishment of the nearby Fabric Gallery with the exhibition Bianco al femminile, dedicated to fifty rare textile artefacts from the museum’s collections.