The circular Mausoleum is a neoclassical building designed by the architect Angelo Demezzi in 1886 to house the remains of Rosa Vercellana (La Bela Rosin), the morganatic wife of King Vittorio Emanuele II. Surrounded by a rectangular park of about thirty thousand square metres, enclosed by a wall standing about three metres tall, it overlooks Strada del Castello di Mirafiori, on the border between the municipalities of Turin and Nichelino.
The building, purchased in 1970 by the City of Turin, had suffered a process of decline until its recent restoration, completed in 2005 to a project by the architects Isola and Gabetti. Rosa Vercellana's remains have been moved to Turin's Monumental Cemetery.
Management of the structure has been entrusted to Turin's Civic Libraries, which use it to stage events, conferences, exhibitions, readings, concerts and theatrical performances, in collaboration with other bodies and associations. In summer, the park becomes a reading garden, equipped with gazebos, benches and chairs to allow visitors to read and browse through (recently published) books and comics arranged on colourful carts, or to borrow them free of charge.
