«Specchi del Giappone» Exhibition at the Castello di Racconigi
News of
«Specchi del Giappone» (Mirrors of Japan) is an exhibition set up at the Castello di Racconigi, open until Sunday 1 November, dedicated to the Turin-born painter and traveller Stefano Faravelli. The exhibition is held in the castle's old Chinese Apartment, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, and is supported by the Fondazione CRC [1].
The exhibition
The exhibition is curated by Alessandra Giovannini Luca and Laura Gallo, in collaboration with the EDT publishing house and with the participation of the Carmagnola Reading Group [1]. It puts Faravelli's work in dialogue with the castle's interior rooms, which in the early twentieth century were renamed the «Appartamento Giapponese» (Japanese Apartment), a testament to the Savoy court's taste for the Orient [1].
The exhibition centres on the work «Giappone. Taccuini dal mondo fluttuante» (Japan. Notebooks from the Floating World), published in 2026 by EDT, which gathers the travel sketchbooks («carnet de voyage») Faravelli produced during his travels in Japan [1].
Stefano Faravelli
Stefano Faravelli is a Turin-born painter and «orientalist», a graduate of the Accademia Albertina with degrees in moral philosophy and Arabic language and culture from the Institute of Oriental Studies [1]. He produced his first «carnet de voyage», «Sindh. Quaderno indiano» (Sindh. Indian Notebook), in 1994; since then his sketchbooks have been exhibited in London, New York, Paris, Istanbul and Jerusalem [1]. In 2017 the French edition of his work «Verde Stupore. Madagascar» won the Grand Prix at the Festival International du Carnet de Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand [1]. In 2025 he published «Verso Capo Horn» (Towards Cape Horn) with Adelphi [1].
The Castello di Racconigi
The Castello di Racconigi is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. The Chinese Apartment hosting the exhibition preserves rooms renamed the «Appartamento Giapponese» in the early twentieth century, evidence of the Savoy court's taste for the Orient [1].
Related articles: Racconigi Castle
Sources
- “Specchi del Giappone” in mostra al “Castello di Racconigi” — Il Torinese, 25 October 2026