Enter where Italy found its voice

Un problema inaspettato si presenta a Torino dopo la concessione dello Statuto albertino da parte di Carlo Alberto il 4 marzo 1848. La monarchia assoluta è archiviata e il potere legislativo è ora esercitato congiuntamente dal sovrano, dal Senato (di nomina regia) e dalla Camera dei Deputati eletti. Si pone dunque il dilemma di dove collocare le due aule parlamentari. Per il Senato è scelto Palazzo Madama e per la Camera: Palazzo Carignano.

La scommessa di 50 giorni

Palazzo Carignano, a seventeenth-century masterpiece designed by Guarino Guarini and historical residence of the Princes of Carignano, is the chosen location for the Chamber of Deputies. The ballroom — an oval-shaped space originally intended for parties and ceremonies — must be transformed into a parliamentary chamber in a very short time and "with the least possible expense."

The task of this undertaking is entrusted to the architect Carlo Sada. In just fifty days, Sada completes the setup: the oval hall is converted into an amphitheater-like hemicycle with the deputies' seats arranged in a semicircle and covered with red desks.

On May 9, 1848, the 204 elected deputies (after the first political votes of the Kingdom of Sardinia held on April 27, 1848) made their solemn entrance. Despite the enthusiasm, parliamentary life immediately proved to be "complex in terms of procedures that had no precedent." It is even said that in the absence of a ballot box for the first votes, a hat was used to collect the ballots.

In this room, a "very important part of the history of Italian unification" was built.

Il giardino dell’Unificazione

The chamber of Palazzo Carignano becomes the cradle of modern political dialectics: the democrats position themselves on the left and the liberals on the right. Men such as Abbot Vincenzo Gioberti are elected here as the first president of the Chamber, and prominent figures such as Cavour and Cesare Balbo, Massimo d'Azeglio, Alessandro Antonelli, and Giuseppe Garibaldi himself are seated.

For twelve years, between May 8, 1848, and December 28, 1860, the Subalpine Parliament passed laws crucial to the country's development and history: from the Siccardi laws of 1850, to the start of work on the Frejus tunnel in 1857, to discussions on the cession of territories such as Nice and Savoy in 1860.

L’ora e l’addio a Torino

With the territorial annexations that took place between 1859 and 1860, the number of deputies continued to grow: from the initial 204 seats to 308. But as unification further progressed to the Center and South, the subalpine chamber became "too small to accommodate them."

The last session of the Subalpine Chamber was held on December 28, 1860, and ended at 2:30 p.m. The hands of the clock on the wall are stopped at that hour, testifying to the end of the Seventh Legislature and the final farewell of the deputies from the Chamber.

The hall, which witnessed and experienced the birth of Italian democracy, is closed but not dismantled. It is immediately given the character of "monument of the nation," officially ratified in 1898. With its original furnishings, paintings, Gonin's ceiling fresco and stopped clock, it is now visible from the balcony of Room 15 and accessible from inside only on special occasions, such as March 17, National Unity, Constitution, Anthem and Flag Day.