Turin is home to a superlative piece of furniture – which critics even dare say is “the most beautiful in the world”: a secrétaire-cabinet decorated with mythological scenes (including a wedding celebrated in the presence of Apollo Citharoedus, cherubs working in a smithy, and a languid sleeping Diana).

The spectacular unit is a masterpiece of Rococo with rare woods inlaid with ivory and tortoiseshell. It is on display in one of the 27 rooms of the Accorsi-Ometto Museum, a treasure trove of decorative art, brought together with long and painstaking work by the “prince of Italian collectors”, Turin-born Pietro Accorsi (1891-1982).