To the origins
Turin was built on an ancient Roman castrum, from which it inherited its checkerboard layout. Via XX Settembre takes you to an archaeological zone where every brick building reflects Roman pragmatism. You'll be amazed to discover the first Paleo-Christian basilicas. A few centuries later, these basilicas would serve as the basis for Romanesque buildings. Baptisteries, campaniles and bell towers are among the great features of Romanesque buildings. This was also the period when city-states asserted themselves, fortifying themselves with castles and ramparts. Gradually, these imposing, crenellated silhouettes were transformed into palace castles in the Gothic period. Religious buildings became more refined and taller. The development of civil power was also reflected in buildings such as the broletto or municipal palace, with arcaded galleries on the first floor and richly decorated rooms upstairs, as in Arona and Orta San Giulio.
From the Renaissance to the revival
The Duomo, with its beautiful white marble facade, is the only example of Renaissance architecture in Turin... so don't miss it! As the new capital of the Savoys, Turin was surrounded by sumptuous mansions dubbed the "Crown of Savoy Delights", whose rich ornamentation heralded the effervescence of the Baroque period. Indeed, it was in Piedmont that a Baroque style entirely dedicated to the staging of power was to develop. The leading figure of the period was Filippo Juvarra, who worked on masterpieces such as the Superga basilica, with its sumptuous dome, and the Venaria Reale, the most beautiful Savoy residence. This Baroque theatricality reached its apogee in the development of Isola Bella, where the sumptuous Borromean palace and its garden tiered into 10 terraces, already hinting at Rococo exuberance, are enthroned. The 18th century saw the arrival of neoclassical architecture. Its clear lines and harmonious proportions can be found in numerous theaters and beautiful lakeside villas. The 19th century was the century of urban effervescence. Turin spread far beyond its original city walls, with wide tree-lined boulevards linking enlarged squares, sublimated by the multiplication of superb covered galleries. While the use of porticoes around squares was not new, the use of metal structures supporting large glass roofs was a major innovation. It was also a time of romantic eclecticism, of which the Borgo Medievale, a reconstruction of a Piedmontese village for the Italian General Exhibition in Turin, was the most popular example.
In the first decade of the 20th century, Art Nouveau (known as Liberty in Italy) seduced Turin's architects, and the city became the capital of this style in the peninsula. This refined aesthetic blossomed naturally in the city's elegant ensemble. Adorning the facades and interiors of hundreds of buildings, floral motifs, plant-silhouetted ironwork and colorful stained-glass windows can still be admired in the streets of Piedmont's capital.
Creative Vitality
In the 1930s, the encounter between architecture and Fascism gave rise to a style combining borrowing from ancient canons and geometric rationality. The Second World War did not spare the major cities of northern Italy. They had to be rebuilt. In Turin, the centenary of Italian unity was the occasion for the construction of new buildings, including Nervi's astonishing Palazzo del Lavoro, with its bold concrete and metal structure. Northern Italy became a haven for the world's greatest architects. In Turin, don't miss Renzo Piano's Intesa San Paolo Tower or Mario Botta's Church of the Holy Face. And let's not forget design, of which Milan is the great capital, but which is also on show in Turin in rehabilitated former industrial buildings, such as the OGR, the rolling stock repair warehouses. What a surprise!
