Hi, today I would like to take you on a journey inside the Egyptian culture. Few populations left so many suggestive proofs of their existence, for this reason, I want to take you to the Egyptian Museum of Turin, the world’s oldest museum devoted entirely to ancient Egyptian culture. As regards value and the quantity of archaeological finds, the Egyptian Museum of Turin is considered the biggest and most important museum of the world, second only to the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.
For sure you are wondering what Egypt has to do with Turin?
We have to thank King Charles Felix of Savoy who in 1824 founded the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Turin, acquiring a collection of 5.628 relics collected by Bernardino Drovetti, in addition to the antiquities already owned by the Savoy family.
The Italian Archeological Mission found other relics between 1900 and 1935 which were later added to the museum’s collection.
Nowadays the Egyptian Museum of Turin is located in the Palace of the Academy of Sciences, the impressive seventeenth century building whose construction began in 1679 by the architect Michelangelo Garove on the basis of the original project of Guarino Guarini.
Starting from the 1980s a new itinerary for visitors with new exhibition spaces was planned, such as a large room designed to house antiquities from the Predynastic Period and Old Kingdom on the ground floor. When the Winter Olympics were held in Turin in 2006, the statuary was rearranged by the set designer Dante Ferretti. The last intervention radically refurbished the spaces, the whole museum itinerary and exhibition facilities with a view to the great reopening in 2015
The museum tour
The itinerary tour is developed in 4 floors where relics and collections from the Predynastic period to the Coptic period are located:
– In the basement there is the history of the museum where visitors can admire the exhibits representing its history and evolution over the centuries, as well as the images of the various excavation campaigns.
– Coming up to the second floor there are many relics belonging to the Predynastic Period such as the Mummy of Gebelein, the Tomb of the Unknown, the Tomb of Iti and Neferu and other relics belonging to the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom.
– Going down to the first-floor visitors can admire the artifacts found by Schiaparelli (such as the Tomb of Kha), as well as many relics belonging to the Ptolemaic, Roman and Late Antique period.
– Going down again and reaching the ground floor, the itinerary tour comes to an end by viewing the Gallery of Kings and the Temple of Ellesiya.
There is also the third floor which is devoted to temporary exhibitions and included in the entrance ticket.
La Galleria dei Re
How to reach the Museo Egizio of Turin
By car: it will take half an hour by car, I suggest parking in the underground parking “Roma–San Carlo–Castello”, the closest to the museum.
Public transports: reachable in about 1h 15m. Take the train from San Maurizio C.se station towards Turin Porta Susa. From here, walk to the “Duchessa Jolanda Est” stop and take bus 56 to the “Castello” stop. You can reach the Museum on foot (3 minutes) by walking along Via Accademia delle Scienze.
Clothing kit
Use casual clothes and especially comfortable shoes.
No backpacks (no backpacks of any kind are allowed in the museum halls)
I wish you to
ENJOY YOUR VISIT and HAVE FUN!
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