The architectural variety of the rooms in the Rivoli Castle provides an original context for contemporary art works that are either on permanent or temporary display. The museum galleries, are located in thirty-eight rooms of the main building and on the third floor of Manica Lunga which together provide an exhibition space of approximately seven thousand square meters. The Castello is an ideal frame in which to display today's works of art, one which opens new and unexpected dialogues with the culture of the past. The Castello di Rivoli stands on the remains of an ancient medieval castle that Emanuele Filiberto had taken over to adapt into a residence for the House of Savoy. At the beginning of the 17th century, Carlo Emanuele I, who was born in Rivoli, decided to build a great palace on the site.

Ascanio Vittozzi worked on the project but it was Carlo di Castellamonte who did the actual construction. The Rivoli Castle is described in the Theatrum Sabaudiae which contains two images showing a long building beside the residence crowned by its four angular towers. This long building was the Duke's Picture Gallery and today is known as the Manica Lunga.The Restoration:   "Ouverture" was the contemporary art exhibition that inaugurated the restored castle. The natural lighting and the dialogue between the architecture and the works of art it contain render this museum unique and different from other contemporary art museums. Its messages are more real and interesting. The restoration work on the Manica Lunga commenced. The 17th century construction was still heavily damaged by the previous installation of lofts and make-shift additions which had drastically altered the internal spaces. The space in the long gallery commissioned by Carlo Emanuele I for his painting collection has been returned to its original condition. To maintain the integrity of the interior the stairways, lifts and washrooms have been placed outside the north wall of the main structure so as to not take away from the architecture of the original building. These have been constructed using up to date material and building techniques. The new roof is held aloft by a series of metal girders; light penetrates the upper part of the gallery through two long window slits running the length of the ceiling; one end of the gallery has been completed with a large floor-to-ceiling glass window which frames the rustic castle wall it faces.
 
On the other end, a mirrored wall reflects the gallery interior making it appear double the length it actually is. This mirrored wall also holds a tall window which opens onto the landscape outside.The main entrance to the Manica Lunga begins at the level of Juvarra's atrium, in the space erected in the 18th century in symmetrical opposition to the grand staircase that now leads to the castle. The space has been completed with a light weight structure which covers the antique brickwork. A second entrance to the Manica Lunga is provided by a new stairway contained by brick walls which divide it from the square.