Description
Piazza Castello is Turin's main square, the heart of the historic center: a large square space of about 40,000 square meters surrounded by arcades, with Palazzo Madama rising at its center, which gave it its name. Via Roma, Via Po, Via Garibaldi and Via Pietro Micca all start from here.
The palace in the middle tells two thousand years in a single building: beneath it are the remains of the Roman gate, above it a medieval castle with four towers and, in front, the white-stone Baroque facade by Filippo Juvarra.
Around it you'll find the Teatro Regio to the east, the Prefecture building with the Armeria Reale to the north, the church of San Lorenzo to the northwest and the two palaces of Via Garibaldi to the west. One corner opens onto the smaller Piazzetta Reale, which leads to the Royal Palace and the Cathedral.
The arcades, built in different periods, make a covered promenade: the one along Via Po was built in 1673 by Amedeo di Castellamonte so that the monarchs could reach the river without getting a drop of rain on them.
Here stood the eastern entrance to Roman Turin, perhaps the Porta Praetoria. In 1276 the Marquis of Monferrato tore down the old gate to make a fortified house, which in the second half of the 14th century, under the Acaja, became a castle.
When in 1563 the Savoy moved the capital from Chambéry to Turin, a square worthy of the role was needed. In 1583 Ascanio Vitozzi drew its present shape, and after him the Castellamontes, father and son, worked on it.
The square was also the stage for solemn events: the arrival of the Shroud in Turin, celebrated with a solemn Mass by Charles Borromeo on October 7, 1578, and the second public display in 1582.
The arcades of the two palaces on Via Garibaldi were called the Portici di Fiera, because they hosted Carnival and the Savoy's festivities. In one of these palaces was the Hotel Trombetta, which in 1861 hosted the regional delegations for the Unification of Italy.
The palace in the middle tells two thousand years in a single building: beneath it are the remains of the Roman gate, above it a medieval castle with four towers and, in front, the white-stone Baroque facade by Filippo Juvarra.
Around it you'll find the Teatro Regio to the east, the Prefecture building with the Armeria Reale to the north, the church of San Lorenzo to the northwest and the two palaces of Via Garibaldi to the west. One corner opens onto the smaller Piazzetta Reale, which leads to the Royal Palace and the Cathedral.
The arcades, built in different periods, make a covered promenade: the one along Via Po was built in 1673 by Amedeo di Castellamonte so that the monarchs could reach the river without getting a drop of rain on them.
Here stood the eastern entrance to Roman Turin, perhaps the Porta Praetoria. In 1276 the Marquis of Monferrato tore down the old gate to make a fortified house, which in the second half of the 14th century, under the Acaja, became a castle.
When in 1563 the Savoy moved the capital from Chambéry to Turin, a square worthy of the role was needed. In 1583 Ascanio Vitozzi drew its present shape, and after him the Castellamontes, father and son, worked on it.
The square was also the stage for solemn events: the arrival of the Shroud in Turin, celebrated with a solemn Mass by Charles Borromeo on October 7, 1578, and the second public display in 1582.
The arcades of the two palaces on Via Garibaldi were called the Portici di Fiera, because they hosted Carnival and the Savoy's festivities. In one of these palaces was the Hotel Trombetta, which in 1861 hosted the regional delegations for the Unification of Italy.