About us

Welcome to the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento in Turin.

Among the museums dedicated to this historical period, ours is the only one of national character and the oldest and most prestigious in Italy, thanks to the richness of its collections and its history.

The Museum, ideally founded in 1878, is located in Palazzo Carignano, an extraordinary Baroque masterpiece designed by Guarino Guarini, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. A place that speaks for itself: residence of the cadet branch of the Savoy-Carignano family, Vittorio Emanuele II, the first King of Italy, was born here.

Visiting the halls of the Museum, you can take a real journey into the birth of united Italy, narrated through objects, documents, fascinating stories, and unique testimonies.

You can learn about and relive the Risorgimento not only as a political and military process, but also as a cultural, social, and economic phenomenon. An extraordinary journey, set within the broader context of European national movements, which is essential to understand and which was made possible by the contribution of intellectuals, visionaries, thinkers of various political backgrounds, young volunteers, soldiers, sovereigns, extraordinary women, great protagonists, and many figures who remained anonymous. A process that was fueled by reforms, battles, revolutions, diplomatic agreements, and decisive conquests, such as the Constitution and the birth of an independent, united, and liberal State.

We want the museum to represent an open, plural, inclusive, and stimulating space for constant dialogue between past and present, capable of arousing reflection on the meaning of national identity, on the value of democracy, and on the great civil and social challenges of the contemporary world.

Alongside the Museum, a specialized library, with a historical archive, newspaper library, and print cabinet, completes the experience, offering scholars and enthusiasts further tools to explore a fundamental period of our history.

Alessandro Bollo

Director, National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento