In the year 312, between Monte Musinè and Caselette, the first battle was fought between Constantine, come down from Gaul, and the legions loyal to Maxentius: Constantine won here, and from here his road ran clear to the Milvian Bridge. Rivoli stood on the via delle Gallie, and Roman itineraries mark a posting station at the eighth mile from Turin — five miles closer in stood the one that would become Collegno. The name comes from the ripulae, the little banks of the Dora Riparia; the hill it sits on is a moraine left by the glaciers.
Ascanio Vitozzi began the castle in 1559 as a temporary residence for Emmanuel Philibert, and later Juvarra dreamed up for the Savoys a colossal palace that remained a fragment: unfinished and immensely powerful, since 1984 it has been the first museum of contemporary art founded in Italy — the baroque rooms talk to Cattelan, Penone and arte povera, and the long wing stretches the collection along a gallery a hundred and forty metres deep. Contrast is its genius: frescoed ceilings above, installations below. At the foot of the castle the pedestrian old town lives on cafés and small shops; Turin is half an hour away by light metro, and the moraine hill opens paths towards the Sacra di San Michele.
Chiesa di San Martino Vescovo · Museo d'arte contemporanea del castello di Rivoli
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Nearest airport: Torino Caselle, 18 km away
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📅 Every year, on 21 September
On 21 September Rivoli celebrates the Madonna della Stella and Antonio Neirotti; the town also holds the ancient Fiera di Santa Caterina, which since the Middle Ages marked the end of the farming season.
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Outside Rivoli, but an easy day trip away.
