The Savoy in Castelporziano: the Life of the Princes at the Estate
The story of the pastimes, games and activities of the Princes of Savoy in Castelporziano, through portraits and photographs
Portrait of the children of Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy (XVII secolo, inizi) by Unknown Piedmontese painterQuirinale Palace
The Princes in Savoyard iconography in Castelporziano
At the Tenuta di Castelporziano, as in the Quirinal Palace and in the other royal palaces, important collections of portraits of the Princes and the Savoy dukes are preserved.
These iconographies show not only the physiognomic portrait of the characters depicted, but the aspirations and future destiny of the noble children that the rigid protocols of the court foreshadowed for them.
More than being, portraits of the present, the images project and develop the future life that was expected.
Thus, in the portrait of the children of Carlo Emanuele I, the symbols of the column, the dog and the dove allude to the political virtues of fortitude, fidelity and peace that must inspire infants.
Portrait of Filippo Emanuele at the age of nine (XVII secolo, inizi) by Unknown Piedmontese painterQuirinale Palace
Likewise, the eldest son of Carlo Emanuele I, Filippo Emanuele di Savoia, is depicted in arms in a period of strong political and military conflicts with the neighboring kingdom of France: he was assigned the task of continuing his father's innate ability in art. of war.
It is not surprising, therefore, the presence of military references which also allude to the role of the child as the heir of Carlo Emanuele I, a character known for his military virtues.
Filippo Emanuele, however, could not succeed his father because he died of smallpox at only twenty years old.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (post 1907)Quirinale Palace
The photos of the Ugo Brusati fund
During the twentieth century, with the development of photography, the representations of the Savoy princes lose the hieratic character of the pictorial iconographies that they still had throughout the nineteenth century.
The photographic images of the Ugo Brusati collection, preserved in the Quirinale Historical Archives, tell the hobbies, games and activities of the princes of Savoy in the residence of Castelporziano.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (post 1907)Quirinale Palace
It is therefore possible to have photographic prints such as these shots of Prince Umberto on the beach of Castelporziano, which present a character of accentuated naturalness and spontaneity.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
Despite the greater 'liberality' of the photographic medium, the depictions of the Crown Prince do not escape the court protocol of royal formality, especially when he is depicted on horseback according to the iconographic tradition that characterizes the equestrian representations of the Savoy.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
In these remarkable shots taken in Castelporziano the rigorous and severe training emerges, which had full control over the life of the prince.
Umberto learned to be formally impeccable, as it appears in the elegant riding posture according to formal canons. and crystallized in the Savoy equestrian iconography.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
Greater liberality is granted instead to the little princesses.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
They can be depicted walking in the woods of the estate.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
In this case, even the hereditary prince is allowed to "pose", together with his sisters, astride a tree trunk.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
The sequence of the photographs allows us to understand well how the daily life of the princes was characterized by amusements that in any case had to be morally consonant with the good progress of national social life.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
An example of this is the access bonfire in front of a typical hut at the time present in the countryside of the Castelporziano estate.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
Thus the experience of lighting a fire in a clearing can only be aimed at the civil exercise of extinguishing the fire itself.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
It shows, in fact, how the little princes are ethically ready for actions aimed at the common good of the nation and the kingdom.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (ca. 1910)Quirinale Palace
It is no coincidence that in one of the photographs we see a lady of the court who, portrayed in a vault of her, records the deeds of the princes with a camera with a tripod.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (post 1910)Quirinale Palace
In a sequence of photos, King Vittorio Emanuele III appears in moments of leisure at the coast of the Estate.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (post 1910)Quirinale Palace
He had gone there driving a gig that is still kept in the deposits of the Presidential Carriage Collection.
The Savoys in the Castelporziano estate (post 1910)Quirinale Palace
It is interesting to note how the king, in these recreational walks, far from the commitments of the court and politics, had a camera with him to testify his amateur passion, but not without results of a good technical level, towards photography. >
Carriage PavilionQuirinale Palace
The buggies for children
Even the princes had their carriages: these are small buggies and buggies for children, pulled by ponies, goats or even dogs, playmates of the little princes.
They became part of the Savoy heritage of Castelporziano in the early 1900s.
Two of these play gigs for children are now on display in the Carriage Pavilion of the Castelporziano Estate.
The first was probably pulled by dogs, due to the particular attack which is incongruous for a pony or a horse.
The second is the smallest vehicle in the collection and most likely it is the gig registered in the 1960 inventory and defined as a 'gig for donkeys'.
