Piazza Carlo Alberto

Piazza Carlo Alberto is a pedestrianized square in the historical center of Turin, located between Via Cesare Battisti and Via Principe Amedeo.

SHORT HISTORY OF PIAZZA CARLO ALBERTO

The square takes its name from the King of Sardinia Carlo Alberto I, son of Carlo Emanuele, Prince of Carignano.

The princes of Carignano owned the palace of the same name, whose 19th-century facade overlooks the square.

The area was reorganized between 1842 and 1859 by demolishing the surrounding walls and creating the square.

In 2006, after long debates, Piazza Carlo Alberto became entirely pedestrian.

INTERESTING FACT: In the northern part of the square, on the third floor of a building on the corner of Via Cesare Battisti with Via Carlo Alberto, Friedrich Nietzsche lived between 1888 and 1889. There, he wrote The Antichrist, The Twilight of the Idols and Ecce Homo.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF PIAZZA CARLO ALBERTO

On the western side of the square, there is Palazzo Carignano, commissioned in the second part of the 17th century by Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Carignano, to the architect Guarino Guarini.

In 1831, Carlo Alberto became the King of Sardinia, and the palace was ceded to the State Property, which housed here the Council of State and the Post Office.

Starting with 1848, the palace was used as the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of the Subalpine Parliament.

On the southern side of the square, stands the 18th-century Palazzo Campana, the current seat of the Mathematics department of the University of Turin.

Throughout the Fascist era, the palace was the headquarters of the provincial federation of the National Fascist Party, and Benito Mussolini gave speeches from the small balcony of the building during his official visits to the city.

On the opposite side of Palazzo Carignano, there is an elegant building which currently houses the National Library of Turin (Biblioteca Nazionale di Torino).

The National Library of Turin was the first public library of the Kingdom of Italy. Founded in 1720, it was entirely rebuilt between 1958 and 1972.

The equestrian statue of Carlo Alberto, located in front of Palazzo Carignano, was placed there in 1861. The statue, work of the sculptor Carlo Marochetti, looks towards the entrance to the building, with its back to the library.

The statues at the base are four allegorical female figures and four soldiers representing the corps of the Royal Sardinian Army. The four bas-reliefs represent the battles of Goito, the battle of Santa Lucia, and the abdication and death in Porto of Carlo Alberto I.

HOW TO GET TO PIAZZA CARLO ALBERTO

Piazza Carlo Alberto is located about 900 meters away from the Porta Nuova railway station, and about 1.6 kilometers away from the Porta Susa railway station.

The closest bus and tram stop is Castello, located in Piazza Castello, about 130 meters away, on the tram Lines 13 and 15, and on the bus Lines 4 ROSSO, 13 Navetta, 15 ROSA, 55, 56, N10, S04, Venaria Express, W01 and W60.