Filippo Juvarra, son of the silversmith Pietro and Eleonora Tufuris, was born in Messina on 27 March 1678. Even while young he showed a great passion for art, teaching himself from treaties on architecture. He started out in his father’s workshop as a plater, carrying out highly refined masterpieces in gold and silver for the more important churches in the area, and attracting the attention of the maestros of the period. He carried out ecclesiastical studies at Messina’s seminary, where he was ordained as a priest at the age of 25. He joined the Congregazione dei Filippini, but preferred to follow his artistic leaning rather than a life dedicated to the Church.
In 1703 he went to Rome to finish his studies in architecture at the school of the architect Carlo Fontana, colleague of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He went to the Accademia di San Lucia where he came into contact with the greatest artists of the day. His work in architecture and theatre set design was so intense that he was elected academic member of the prestigious Accademia di San Luca. Following the death of his father, Juvarra returned to Messina and became Architect of the Royal Household for Duke Vittorio Amedeo II. 

In 1714 Vittorio Amedeo II, by then King, settled in Turin, taking Abbot Juvarra with him. In the meantime, Juvarra had become First Civil Architect for the Savoys. The Royal Architect conferred the architectural, urban and monumental dignity of a European capital on the city.
He carried out numerous works in Turin until 1734, when he left for Madrid, where he was to die young on 31 January 1736. In a few years his frenetic, overpowering work was to be seen in numerous buildings in Turin: the façades of the churches of St.Cristina and St.Carlo, the Basilica of Superga, the façade and the steps of Palazzo Madama, the Royal Hunting Palace of Stupinigi, the Palazzo del Senato Sabaudo.

In his role as scenery designer he prepared the ephemeral decorations for Giovanna Battista di Savoia, Anna d'Orléans and Vittorio Amedeo II di Savoia’s funerals. Far from virtuoso illusionism, Juvarra’s scenes were characterised by a highly skilled play of chiaroscuro, which allowed the architectural structures to become part of the exquisitely fantastic scenery, transforming the architecture into a true theatrical backdrop. Sophistication and elegance, along with luminosity of space can be seen in all of his Turin projects.