From squares to courts

Stories of games and shows between the 18th and 19th centuries

Exhibitions

Until 8 January 2023, Rooms of the Arts

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Significant representations of games and shows held in the courts, theatres and squares of Turin – the Savoy capital – and the provincial cities.

The exhibition presents rare iconographic evidence from the 18th and 19th centuries, including paintings from Royal Savoy Residences and exceptional posters from the Incisa archive of the Library of the Asti Bishop's Seminary.

Among the posters, some refer to the "circus" which was just emerging. Some of the works on display stand out for importance such as a puppet show dating back to the end of the 18th century and a section of the exhibition dedicated to magic lanterns, peep boxes and fantascopes organised in collaboration with the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.

The exhibition is enriched by the direction and narration of Arturo Brachetti whose voice guides visitors around the exhibition and brings them back to the time of the events illustrated in the works through stories, sounds, clamour and images of squares and courtyards.

Ambrogio Orio, da un disegno di Petrus A. Spettacolo di Mondo Nuovo, primo quarto del XIX sec