The Royal Palace of Turin is the first and most important of the Savoy residences in Piedmont, the scene of the politics of the Kingdom of Savoy for at least three centuries: the official residence of the Savoy family until 1865, the former Bishop's Palace, it was rebuilt by Ascanio Vitozzi (1584) for Charles Emmanuel I and then enlarged and renovated in an uninterrupted series of interventions in which the most important architects and artists working in Turin between the 18th and 19th centuries took part. Some of the most fascinating rooms are the large Salone degli Svizzeri, designed by Pelagio Palagi (1835-40), the Throne Room, the Coffee Room, the Alcove Room of Charles Emmanuel II, the 19th-century Ballroom, one of the most sumptuous rooms in the palace, and finally the magnificent Scissors Staircase by Filippo Juvarra (1720). The basement of the palace houses the spectacular kitchens and the enormous cellars.