Chiesa di Sant'Uberto

The Chapel of Saint Hubert is the palatine church of the Royal Palace of Venaria. Designed by Filippo Juvarra between 1716 and 1729, it is dedicated to the patron saint of hunters and includes a painted cupola by Giovanni Antonio Galliari.

Why it matters

The chapel links the palace's religious life with its origins as a hunting residence. Juvarra's design culminates the palace axis with a Greek-cross plan and an illusionistic cupola. Because the structure could not support a masonry dome, the painted architecture turns a structural constraint into a defining feature of the interior.

What to notice

The restrained exterior gives way to an interior focused on the painted cupola. Giovanni Antonio Galliari's perspective painting creates the appearance of a dome above the Greek-cross plan. The chapel's position at the end of the palace sequence makes it part of the larger architectural composition.

Context and history

Filippo Juvarra received the commission for the palace enlargement in 1716 from Vittorio Amedeo II and worked on the chapel between 1716 and 1729. Its dedication to Saint Hubert reflects the hunting purpose of the residence begun under Carlo Emanuele II. The simulated cupola was painted by Giovanni Antonio Galliari. The chapel shared the palace's later military use and its restoration between 1999 and 2007. The chapel forms part of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed by UNESCO in 1997.