t The 19th-century Mole Antonelliana, dominating Turin’s skyline
Mention Turin (Torino) and most people will think of industry and prosperity. It is certainly an economic powerhouse but it is also a town of grace and charm, with the Alps in the background, rolling hills close to the city centre, the River Po running through it, long tree-lined streets of Baroque architecture, elegant arcades of shops and excellent museums. Turin is also, of course, home to the famous Turin Shroud, the Fiat car company and the Juventus football team.
t The 19th-century Mole Antonelliana, dominating Turin’s skyline
Experience Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont
n Double-tap image to read the labels
Experience Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont
Timeline |
1st century BCTurin is settled by the Romans. |
15th centuryUniversity of Turin is established. |
1536Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy moves his capital to Turin. |
1861–5Turin becomes the first capital of the newly unified Italy. |
1899Turin becomes the first capital of the newly unified Italy. |
1993Turin football team Juventus wins the UEFA cup for the third time. |
The cathedral, built between 1491 and 1498 and dedicated to St John the Baptist, is the only example of Renaissance architecture in Turin. The sober square bell tower, which pre-dates the rest of the church by 20 years, stands in refreshing contrast to Turin’s sumptuous Baroque buildings; its top was designed by Filippo Juvarra in 1720. Inside, the Duomo is heavy with statuary and paintings. On the right side of the church is the Cappella della Sacra Sindone (Chapel of the Holy Shroud), which is incorporated into the Palazzo Reale. The chapel is a remarkable feat, designed by Guarino Guarini (1624–83), with an extraordinary mesh-like cupola; the exterior is equally eccentric.
t Palazzo Madama, home to the Museo Civico d’Arte Antica
Turin’s main square once featured a medieval castle, which incorporated elements of the original Roman city walls. The castle was later enlarged and remodelled, and a new façade by Filippo Juvarra was added at the request of a royal widow in the 18th century. The castle was renamed Palazzo Madama and sits in the centre of the square with a stately façade. The interior, with its grand staircase and first floor, both designed by Juvarra, houses the Museo Civico d’Arte Antica.
This collection contains numerous treasures ranging from the Graeco-Roman era to the 19th century. The display includes Portrait of an Unknown Man by Antonello da Messina (15th-century) and reproductions of the Duc de Berry’s Book of Hours, dating from around 1420. Furniture, glass, jewellery and textiles are also on display.
t Kha and his wife Merit adoring Osiris, from the Tomb of Kha, Museo Egizio
Turin owes its magnificent Egyptian Museum to the collection of Piedmont-born Bernardo Drovetti, who was stationed in Egypt as French Consul General at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The items on display are arranged in chronological order, from 4000 BC to AD 700.
The ground floor hosts statues in rooms decorated by the Oscar-winning set designer Dante Ferretti, plus the reconstruction of the 15th-century-BC Rock Temple of Ellesija.
On the first floor is the Coffin Gallery, featuring very fine coffins, such as the 14th-century-BC Tomb of Kha and Merit, complete with the food, tools and ornaments buried with them for the afterlife.
The Papyrus Room holds a collection of enormous interest to scholars: one document, the Royal Papyrus, lists all the pharaohs up to the 17th dynasty, with their dates. The museum holds three different versions of the Book of the Dead, including the oldest known copy. On the second floor are artifacts from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom.
The collection of artworks that make up the Galleria Sabauda was originally started in the mid- to late 1400s, and it has been expanded over the centuries by the Savoy family.
The artworks are exhibited on four floors in chronological order, from medieval times to the 1700s, in large, bright rooms with self-explanatory labels and multimedia aids.
Among works of particular interest from the Italian schools are Antonio and Paolo Pollaiolo’s 15th-century Tobias and the Archangel Raphael, the Ritratto di Gentiluomo by Bronzino and a Madonna con Bambino by Beato Angelico. Mantegna, Bellini and Veronese are among the other Italian artists represented here. Dutch and Flemish works include important paintings such as Jan Van Eyck’s St Francis (15th century) and Rembrandt’s Old Man Sleeping (17th century), as well as several portraits by Van Dyck. The fourth floor hosts the Gualino Collection, which contains Roman archaeological finds, Oriental artworks and a Venere (Venus) by Botticelli.
This Baroque palazzo is not only Guarini’s masterpiece; it is arguably the finest building in Turin, with its magnificent brick façade and ornate rotunda. It was built in 1679 for the Carignano family – an offshoot of the main House of Savoy and ancestors of the Italian kings – but came into its own in the 1800s. Italy’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II, was born here in 1820.
The palazzo is now home to the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano, which, through paintings and a collection of artifacts, tells the story of Italy’s unification. It introduces Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi – key figures in the Risorgimento.
This park contains the Borgo Medioevale, a complex of medieval buildings that was built for the General Italian exhibition of 1884. The edifices show different constructions and designs, based on traditional regional houses and castles.
The Orto Botanico, beside the castle, is an impressive botanical garden.
Located on the roof of the former Fiat factory (which has been redesigned by architect Renzo Piano), this museum displays art dating from between the 18th and 20th centuries, including works by Picasso, Matisse and Manet.
t Statue of Duke Emanuele Filiberto in the centre of Piazza San Carlo
The ensemble of Baroque architecture on this square has earned it the nickname “Turin’s drawing room”. At its southern end are the twin churches of Santa Cristina and San Carlo; both were built in the 1630s, though the former has a Baroque façade, designed by Juvarra in the 18th century. At the centre of the square stands a 19th-century statue of Duke Emanuele Filiberto. The work, by Carlo Marocchetti, has become an emblem of the city. The Galleria San Federico, in the northwestern corner, is a stylish shopping arcade.
This building is an unmissably tall landmark on Turin’s skyline. It looks like a glorified lightning conductor: indeed, in 1953 an electrical storm damaged the top, which was replaced. The 167-m (550-ft) Mole, by Alessandro Antonelli (1798–1888), was meant to be a synagogue. On completion in 1889, the city left it for years without a use before it eventually housed the Risorgimento museum between 1908 and 1938. Today, the building provides panoramic views from its lift and houses the National Cinema Museum, which is widely believed to be the world’s tallest museum.
Behind this palace’s austere façade, designed by Amedeo di Castellamonte, lie richly decorated state apartments; the ceilings were painted by Morello, Miel and Seyter in the 17th century. The splendid furnishings date from the 17th to the 19th centuries; they include the Chinese Cabinet, the Alcove Room, the lavish Throne Room, and the Scala delle Forbici, or Scissor Stairs, created by Juvarra in 1720.
Experience Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont
The most famous – and the most dubious – holy relic of them all is kept in the Duomo. The shroud, said to be the winding-sheet in which Christ was wrapped after His crucifixion, owes its fame to the fact that it bears the imprint of a crucified man.