Museums
Museo Storico dell'Arma di Cavalleria (Pinerolo)
Category: Thematic
With the ascent to the throne of Vittorio Emanuele II in 1849, after the Battle of Novara and the consequent abdication of Carlo Alberto, Alfonso La Marmora, Minister for War, decided to transfer the Scuola di Equitazione (Riding School), created by Carlo Felice in 1823, from Venaria Reale to the town of Pinerolo, under the new name of the “Scuola di Cavalleria”. On paper, the transfer was justified “by the mild climate, plentiful water and forage and the salubrious nature of the land”, but in actual fact the decision was made to move the military academy away from Torino, a city which was thought could be “noxious to youth, being a dangerous centre of attraction". The School remained in Pinerolo until 1943, the year in which it closed. The Museum, housed in the old Principe Amedeo Barracks, now known as the Generale Fenulli Barracks, is among the most recent State Military Museums and was inaugurated and opened to the public in October 1968. Even today it depends entirely on the Comando Reclutamento e Forze di Completamento Interregionale Nord di Torino (Torino North Interregional Completion Forces and recruitment Command). Nothing or almost nothing that is kept here comes from the Administration of Defence: almost all the items collected have been donated over the years by Officers, Warrant Officers, members and enthusiasts of the Armed Forces. The vast display of relics makes it one of Europe’s richest Forces’ Museums and it is divided into various sectors. On the ground floor, besides the large monumental stones, there are carts, carriage, saddles and saddlecloths. On the first floor there are standards, flags, bronzes, silverware, paintings, prints, photographs, decorations and an extensive collection of uniforms from the period between the state of the Wars for the Risorgimento and the present day. The second floor concerns the Colonial Campaigns and the two World Wars. In one of its two galleries, there is a collection of swords and firearms, both of Italian and European origin.
Information
Viale Giolitti, 5 - 10064 Pinerolo (To)
Tel/Fax: +39.0121.376344
E-mail: museo.cavalleria@dag.it
www.museocavalleria.it
