Thursday, went to see the Castle at La Venaria Reale

About 30 miles out of Torino is a marvelous castle of the Italian Monarchy. I've been having to learn a lot about Italian history to make any sense of the places we are visiting. I learn today that Prior to creation of the Republic of Italy in around 1860, Italy was a group of City/States run by a monarch in each political domain. Places like Torino, Milano, Florence, Rome , Naples were all governed by their own monarchs and he King of Torino became the King of Italy the first go around. In fact, Torino was the first capital. 

Don't shoot me if I get some of these fact wrong. Its a lot to try to keep track of. 

I do know the Savoy dynasty of France has a very long lineage also related to the monarch of Italy. 

This is the first castle in Torino, La Venaria Reale. It was dormant and not maintained until about 10 years ago when the EU decided to spend money to create a visitors attraction. And attraction it is. The gardens, when finished, will rival Versailles, as they did when it was fully operational. BTW, this castle started life as the "Hunting Lodge" of the royal family, with thousands of acres of land for hunting.

This is the map as provided when you take the tour. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in the castle and The only pictures I took are of the outside. They have made amazing progress fo having been at it for only 10 years. I expect when they are done in another 10, it will even be more spectactular.

 
This is what the grounds look like at the present. This is only one small section or about 1/10 of what the finished gardens will look like. And yes, those are swans floating in the pool.

Looking at the back side of this massive building there is a water feature with a fountain.

And its getting to be fall around here as you can see by the trees changing colors.