The Turin galleries take up the famous passages present in France since the eighteenth century and whose construction began in the Savoy city only from the second half of the 1800s.
Being covered, just like the arcades, these passages allowed, mostly for the nobles of the time, to walk quietly even on rainy days.
Inside there were boutiques for shopping, cafes, cinemas and much more. A little curiosity: one of the Turin galleries was home to a hospital for several years.
Three great examples of this architectural and cultural heritage that characterizes, together with the famous porticoes and large squares, the city of Turin remain today.
Subalpine Gallery
The official name is “Galleria dell’industria Subalpina” (Gallery of Subalpine Industry) because the expenses for its construction were covered by the Bank of Subalpine Industry. Today, however, it is better known by the people of Turin simply as the Subalpine Gallery. Inside there are the Cinema Romano and Baratti and Milano, respectively one of the oldest cinemas and one of the oldest cafes in the Piedmontese capital.
Umberto I Gallery
In fact, the area was home to the Mauriziano Hospital, the largest hospital in the city of Turin at the time, located here from 1575 until its transfer to its new location in Corso Stupinigi.
San Federico Gallery
Built in the thirties of the twentieth century, the Galleria San Federico has a cross-shaped structure with large windows, columns and marble vaults. The gallery was the first historical headquarters of the newspaper La Stampa and inside there is also the Lux cinema, one of the oldest cinemas in Turin.
