The Guangdong Museum in Guangzhou—one of the top three museum institutions in the People’s Republic of China, with over seven million annual visitors—has inaugurated the second major exhibition of the year promoted by Palazzo Madama in Turin in Asia.
Following the success of the exhibition at the Museum of Wu in Suzhou, which attracted over 180,000 visitors, the new exhibition, “Crown of Elegance. Court Life and Art of Savoy in the 18th Century”, celebrates Turin as a capital, its historic Crown of Delights, and the system of Savoy Royal Residences, as part of a truly exceptional cultural project.
Welcomed enthusiastically by both the public and critics, the exhibition has already surpassed 25,000 paying visitors in its first five days, and is considered one of the most significant exhibition events of the year in China, even competing for the title of “Best Exhibition of 2025.”
The exhibition offers the public the opportunity to discover 18th-century Turin, by then established as one of the most refined capitals in Europe, characterized by elegant arcaded streets and places royales that still enchant visitors today. At the heart of court life were the Royal Palaces, settings for solemn ceremonies, festivities, performances, and concerts, while the forests surrounding the city hosted the ritual of the royal hunt, following a model shared by the great European courts of the time.
Through its extraordinary collection of applied arts—one of the most important in Europe in terms of breadth, quality, and typological variety—Palazzo Madama, in dialogue with the Guangdong Museum, has created an original exhibition capable of narrating, with depth and allure, nearly two centuries of daily, ceremonial, and symbolic life at the Savoy court. A journey that intertwines artisanal knowledge, decorative taste, and codes of power representation, offering the international public a glimpse into the refinement of one of Europe’s longest-standing dynasties through objects of use and representation, concrete expressions of a material culture that blends art, function, and political identity.
Chinese visitors can admire over 160 works on display, including precious goldsmithing, bronzes, gilded glass, paintings, textiles, majolica, porcelain, bookbindings, furniture, and inlays: a collection that spans the major applied arts and conveys the cultural identity of a court and an era.
The project, developed through close collaboration between the curators of the Guangdong Museum and those of Palazzo Madama, coordinated on this occasion by Clelia Arnaldi di Balme and Paola Ruffino, together with Angela Benotto, head of international relations, revolves around the concept of the “craft of the arts”: that artisanal knowledge capable of blending technique and beauty, functionality and symbolic value. This intangible heritage is embodied in the work of goldsmiths, glassmakers, cabinetmakers, and weavers, whose creations are rooted in centuries-old traditions that even the industrial revolution could not erase.
It is from this vision that the thematic heart of the exhibition takes shape: “Know-how”, the secret behind Italian creativity and genius. That extraordinary quality of craftsmanship that has produced masterpieces capable of transcending centuries and captivating generations, making the artisan-artist not only a guardian of beauty but also a key figure in a sustainable economic and cultural model—one that combines material and spiritual wealth, social awareness, justice, and the recognition of merit through the value of quality.
In this interplay between art and technical skill, the exhibition becomes not only an aesthetic journey but also a universal message about the dignity of creative work, the transmission of knowledge, and the relevance of a productive culture that continues to inspire the world.
Among the most significant pieces are Chinese artworks created for the Savoy court, tangible evidence of the fascination with the East that permeated 18th-century Europe and found one of its most refined expressions in Turin.
To reflect the complexity of these international relationships, the exhibition also presents masterpieces of rare historical importance. Among them is an exceptional diplomatic gift: a porcelain service from the renowned Meissen manufactory, sent in 1725 by Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, to a European sovereign. At the heart of the service is the only documented work by Johann Gregorius Höroldt, the greatest painter in the history of European porcelain. His scenes, entirely invented and not based on existing models, introduced the “Chinese world” into Western porcelain for the first time, with a meticulous, brilliant, and fairy-tale style that marked a turning point in decorative art.
The gift—comprising around 300 pieces divided into twelve crates—arrived in Turin in November 1725, exactly three hundred years ago. This anniversary coincides with the 250th anniversary of Höroldt’s death, making the presence of these works in the exhibition even more symbolic and timely.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Consortium of the Savoy Royal Residences, which provided a rich collection of video and photographic materials, the exhibition offers the Chinese public the opportunity to discover the entire historical and artistic heritage of Piedmont, highlighting the architectural refinement of the residences, the elegance of their interiors, and the scenic harmony of their parks and gardens.
The exhibition path opens with an immersive portal, where a high-definition slideshow celebrates the logo and aesthetic grandeur of the Savoy Residences, projecting visitors into a visual and symbolic journey that begins at Palazzo Madama and Palazzo Reale, extending across the entire Piedmont region in a continuum of art, landscape, and history.
The result is a powerful and engaging visual narrative that conveys the beauty and value of a unique cultural system, recognized by UNESCO as a serial site, and now considered one of the most authoritative identity assets for the international promotion of Piedmont and Italy.
The exhibition will give rise to an extraordinary series of initiatives aimed at the Chinese public: from scholarly publications to be released after the exhibition, to a rich program of collateral activities, including talks, conferences, and daily educational tours designed for all age groups. The project also includes original marketing and merchandising initiatives, such as a themed cruise, the creation of spoon desserts inspired by the House of Savoy, drinks and perfumes dedicated to the Turin court, and much more.
To complete the immersive experience offered by the exhibition, digital communication plays a strategic role: throughout the duration of the event, the Guangdong Museum has launched a dedicated channel on WeChat, one of the most widespread and influential digital platforms in China, with over a billion active users. Within this exclusive space, high-quality multimedia content curated specifically for the Chinese audience will be published regularly.
This targeted initiative helps to strengthen the visibility of Piedmont’s heritage and to reach a broad and well-defined audience, one that is attentive to culture and high-quality tourism, thereby multiplying the exhibition’s communicative impact even beyond the physical exhibition spaces. It is a virtuous example of how international cooperation can combine cultural content and digital tools to enhance the awareness and appeal of Italian heritage worldwide.
“The exhibition currently on view in Guangzhou represents one of the most significant outcomes of the internationalization process launched in recent years by the Fondazione Torino Musei through the implementation of its Strategic Plan,” emphasizes Massimo Broccio, President of the Fondazione Torino Musei. “This plan included the creation of an internal function dedicated to the development of international cultural relations, with the goal of establishing a continuous and coordinated effort to promote the civic heritage of Turin and Piedmont abroad.Through this new structure, the Foundation has activated an important network of institutional and project-based relationships with museums, organizations, and cultural operators of international relevance, giving rise to traveling exhibitions, co-curated displays, training initiatives, and joint communication and strategic positioning efforts.The exhibition originates from the collections of Palazzo Madama, a foundational site of the city, whose extraordinary symbolic and architectural value—spanning over two thousand years of history—serves as the starting point for a broader narrative about court culture, decorative arts, and the system of Royal Residences in Piedmont.It is also worth noting that Palazzo Madama recently signed a major framework agreement with the Nanjing Museum, the second-largest museum in the People’s Republic of China: this is the first official agreement ever signed between a Chinese state museum and an Italian museum.This historic agreement has already led to a series of joint scholarly projects, in which directors, curators, and conservators from both institutions work side by side to develop shared interpretations of cultural heritage.This exhibition, therefore, is not just a temporary display, but one of many concrete actions of cultural diplomacy, confirming the role of the Fondazione Torino Musei as a model of innovation, international cooperation, and the promotion of Italian cultural heritage worldwide, capable of building bridges between histories, skills, and visions, in the name of quality, dialogue, and shared beauty.”
“In recent years, Palazzo Madama has promoted a cultural project with an international scope, born from a series of scholarly collaborations based on mutual respect, dialogue, and the development of a broad reflection on the archetypes that, since ancient times, have connected and brought cultures into dialogue.The newly inaugurated exhibition is the result of a deliberate and thoughtful exchange between museum directors and curators, structured with rigor and shared visions, in a dialogue between institutions that share values and responsibilities.”
“On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and China, this project stands as a virtuous example of cultural diplomacy, capable of reinforcing the role of museums as places of soft power, critical thinking, and international cooperation.Through this project, Palazzo Madama confirms its strategic role within the international cultural system: as a guardian of tangible and intangible heritage, it becomes a builder of bridges in a present that, through awareness of the past, can define the essential building blocks of a conscious future,” states Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, Director of Palazzo Madama.
“We are proud to contribute to this extraordinary international cultural initiative, which allows the Chinese public to discover not only the beauty of the individual Royal Residences, but also the unity and strength of the system that connects them, recognized by UNESCO as a serial site,” says Michele Briamonte, President of the Consortium of the Savoy Royal Residences.“This synergy with the Fondazione Torino Musei represents a virtuous example of collaboration between Piedmontese cultural institutions,” adds Chiara Teolato, Director of the Consortium, “capable of working together to enhance and promote abroad a shared heritage rich in history, art, and landscape—one that is increasingly recognized as a strategic asset for the cultural and tourism positioning of our region on a global scale.”
