Built at the beginning of the 17th century, embellished, enlarged and remodelled several times, the palace constitutes the building of greatest historical prestige in the city: the peace of 1631 was signed here, the Holy Shroud, removed from Turin in 1706, was deposited in its rooms, Napoleon Bonaparte imposed the 1796 armistice on the Piedmontese, and its rooms were chosen several times as the residence of the Savoy court.
The Salmatoris family died out in 1822 and the palace was alienated several times until a mill was installed (now on display in the newly restored part). Palazzo Salmatoris was partly acquired in the 1980s by the City of Cherasco: restoration work led to it being used as an exhibition venue. Since the 1990s, it has hosted exhibitions of contemporary and modern art, such as Picasso, De Pisis, Ligabue, Campigli, De Chirico, Guttuso, Morandi, Picasso to Fontana, Chagall, Mirò and Magritte, Casorati, Carrà, Sironi to name but the biggest names.
It is now an important cultural centre and venue for high-level art exhibitions.
Reviglio Hall
A permanent exhibition has been dedicated to the great Cherasque painter Romano Reviglio (1928- 2008). A gift from the administration to remember the artist through the ages: solitary, shy, but strongly tied to his homeland, with a painting that took inspiration from the secluded, magical and historically rich town of Cherasco.
Permanent Museum
Also on the ground floor of the newly renovated portion of Palazzo Salmatoris, after the Reviglio Room and the old Mill, you can visit the Permanent Museum made up of donations from the many contemporary artists on display in Cherasco.
In 2023, the collection was enriched by the sculptural works of Rosalda Gilardi Bernocco, an artist originally from Cherasco, who spent her summers in the city of Paci.
The major exhibition held in the autumn of 2023 led to the conception of this important permanent exhibition set up in the rooms of the historic Palazzo Salmatoris, where it is possible to retrace the creative path of the sculptress, who made use of different materials and different creative styles in her production.
With the reopening of Palazzo Salmatoris, on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to Napoleon by Frenchman Jean Gaudaire Thor (open from 6 July to 20 October), audioguides will be available in the halls for the historical and artistic description of the Palazzo. The system has been offered by the Associazione Amici di Castelli Aperti, with the support of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation within the framework of the Bando Luoghi della Cultura and the Fondazione CRC, Bando Patrimonio Culturale 2022 - Measure 4.
How do the audio guides work? The audio files can be downloaded from the visitor's phone by means of a QR Code physically present in the beautiful rooms of Palazzo Salmatoris, in particular the topics cover Introduction and the grand staircase, a new residence in Cherasco built in the modern style, the piano nobile, the Hall of Silence, the Hall of Peace, the story of Napoleon Bonaparte and the armistice of Cherasco, the south sleeve, the restorations and painted ceilings, the mill and millstones, the Paoletti del Melle, the Russian Czarina and the Baci di Cherasco.