The Manica Lunga is a longitudinal architectural structure (147 meters in length and 6 meters in width) built in the first half of the 1600s by the architects Amedeo and Carlo di Castellamonte at the behest of Carlo Emanuele I.
Present in the illustrations of the Theatrum Sabaudiae, this long and narrow building, at the time connected with the central body of the Castello Building,had to house the ducal gallery. Damaged, like the whole complex, by the French troops of General Catinat in 1693, it should have been demolished to meet the needs of the new project developed by Filippo Juvarra. The architect from Messina had provided in its place a body symmetrical to the pre-existing one, with the large atrium in the center and the central hall on the noble floor. The project was interrupted before the demolition of the Manica Lunga, which has since been used as a service space
The restoration of the Manica Lunga started in 1986 and finished in 2000 with the opening of the exhibition space on the third floor. Thus the building’s original vocation was reclaimed. Andrea Bruno placed staircases and an elevator on the exterior of the building, realized in transparent materials that allow structure to remain visible. The metal roof, a completely new addition, is characterized by repetitive ribs, forming a central cap for the entire length of the building. Natural light has been greatly increased thanks to the large windows and the elimination of the attics and the structures realized in more recent times and not pertaining to the Castellamonte period.
In the Manica Lunga, there is an exhibition space dedicated to temporary exhibitions, the Library and the CRRI, the Conference Room and the Museum Cafeteria.
