| Abstrakt: |
The essay aims at further exploring the history of horse farming and horse racing in Carlo Alberto’s Kingdom of Sardinia through the scrupulous analysis of unpublished sources and magazines of the time. Starting from the innovative legislative decree of 20 February 1833, the essay looks at the measures implemented to renew the equestrian sector, improve the quality of the Savoy horse breeds and institutionalize the first Turin races (1834). In 1835, the Società Piemontese delle Corse dei Cavalli (Piedmontese Society of Horse Racing) was thus founded in Turin: a strongly artistocratic society of hippophiles including several members of the royal family, the most illustrious members of the Savoy nobility and the highest offices of the subalpine administration – which, until the outbreak of the first Italian war of independence (1848- 1849), took care of the organization of horse racing in the Royal States, following mainly the English, French and Belgian model. The attentive reader will be able to follow the evolution of the competitions - from Piazza d’Armi in Turin to the Venaria hippodrome, from traditional horse races to modern ponies competitions - up to the last equestrian event held at the time of Carlo Alberto (4 May 1847). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
