Royal Palace of Monza Italy

The Royal Palace of Monza, near Milan, was built between 1777 and 1780 by the architect Giuseppe Piermarini. It was designed to be the summer residence of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1754-1806), son of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) and the new governor of Milan, who resided there until the arrival of Napoleon’s armies in 1796. Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824), appointed in 1805 as viceroy of the newly formed Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, made it his summer residence. When Lombardy-Venetia was annexed to the Kingdom of Piedmont, the palace became the preferred residence of King Humbert I of Italy (1844-1900), who restored and decorated it in the style of the time. He was assassinated in Monza by an anarchist in 1900.

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Royal Residence
Royal Palace of Monza
Reggia di Monza

Country
Italy - Italia

Period of silk creation
1805 (public textile)
ca. 1868 (private textile)

public textile

Sala degli uccelli
© Reggia di Monza, Corrado Beretta

Name of the residence and name of the room:
Royal Palace of Monza, The Bird Room
Reggia di Monza, Sala degli uccelli

Period of creation:
1805

Materials and technique:
Silk

Formerly known as the "coffee room", this is the only room with the original historical furnishings and silk wall coverings. As dictated by the fashion of the time, the room is finely decorated with exotic woods, animal designs and oriental motifs: « chinoiserie ».

Person associated:

Carlo Antonio Raineri, designer

private textile

Guardaroba
© Reggia di Monza, Corrado Beretta

Name of the residence and name of the room:
Wardrobe, Royal Palace of Monza
Guardaroba, Reggia di Monza

Period of creation:
ca. 1868

Materials and technique:
Silk

The private apartments were refurbished for King Umberto I and his wife, Margherita of Savoy. The reweaving of the wallcovering bearing the Savoy coat of arms adorn the walls: the eagle with pointed wings, on the left, bears the crusader shield on its chest and is surmounted by the Savoy crown. Some fragments of this hanging were found inside the wardrobes of King Umberto's dressing room.