section_path: Cityscape/City centre
section_name: City centre
paragraph_text: City centre
  
  Turin's historical architecture is predominantly Baroque and was developed under the Savoyard state. Nonetheless, the main street of the city centre, Via Roma, was built during the Fascist era (from 1931 to 1937) as an example of Italian Rationalism, replacing former buildings already present in this area.
  
  Via Roma runs between Piazza Carlo Felice and Piazza Castello. Buildings on the portion between Piazza Carlo Felice and Piazza San Carlo were designed by rationalist architect Marcello Piacentini. These blocks were built into a reticular system, composed by austere buildings in clear rationalist style, such as the impressive Hotel Principi di Piemonte and the former Hotel Nazionale in Piazza CLN. Porches are built in a continuous entablature and marked with double columns, to be consistent with those of Piazza San Carlo. The section of the street between Piazza San Carlo and Piazza Castello was built in an eclectic style, with arcades characterised by Serliana -type arches. To this day Via Roma is the street featuring the most fashionable boutiques of the city.
  
  Via Roma crosses one of the main squares of the city: the pedestrianized Piazza San Carlo, built by Carlo di Castellamonte in the 17th century. In the middle of the square stands the equestrian monument to Emmanuel Philibert, also known as Caval ëd Brons in the local dialect ('Bronze Horse'); the monument depicts the Duke sheathing his sword after the Battle of St. Quentin. Piazza San Carlo arcades host the most ancient cafés of the city, such as Caffé Torino and Caffé San Carlo.
  
  At the northern end of Via Roma stands Piazza Castello, regarded as the heart of the city. The half-pedestrianized square hosts some significant buildings such as Palazzo Reale (Former Savoy Royal House), the Palazzo Madama (which previously hosted the Savoy senate and, for few years, the Italian senate after Italian unification), the former Baroque Teatro Regio di Torino (rebuilt in modern style in the 1960s, after being destroyed by fire), the Royal Library of Turin which hosts the Leonardo da Vinci self-portrait, and the baroque Royal Church of San Lorenzo. Moreover, Piazza Castello hosts a Fascist era building, the Torre Littoria, a sort of skyscraper which was supposed to become the headquarters of the Fascist party, although it never served as such. The building's style is quite different from the Baroque style of Piazza Castello. The square regularly hosts the main open space events of the city, live concerts included.
  
  As for the southern part of the street, Via Roma ends in Piazza Carlo Felice and in its Giardino Sambuy, a wide fenced garden right in the middle of the square. Across from Piazza Carlo Felice stands the monumental façade of Porta Nuova railway station, the central station of the city built between 1861 and 1868 by the architect Alessandro Mazzucchetti. The passengers building was renovated to host a shopping mall and more efficient passenger service offices. However, it is still an example of monumental architecture, with its stately foyer and some Baroque sights, such as the Sala Reale (the former Royal waiting room).
  
  In Piazza Castello converge some of the main streets of the city centre. Among them, one of the most significant is the arcaded Via Po, built by Amedeo di Castellamonte in 1674 and featuring some interesting buildings, such as the first and original building of the University of Turin and the historical Caffè Fiorio, which was the favourite café of the 19th-century politicians. Via Po ends in Piazza Vittorio Veneto (simply called Piazza Vittorio locally), the largest Baroque square in Europe and today heart of Turin nightlife. Piazza Vittorio features the most fashionable bars and not far from here, along the Po riverfront, the Murazzi quays used to host several bars and nightclubs open until the morning until a few years ago.
  
  Parallel to Via Roma, the other two popular pedestrian streets, namely Via Lagrange and Via Carlo Alberto, cross the old town from Via Po to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Their recent pedestrianisation has improved their original commercial vocation. In particular, Via Lagrange has recently increased the presence of luxury boutiques. This street also hosts the Egyptian Museum of Turin, home to what is regarded as one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt.
  
  Via Lagrange and Via Carlo Alberto cross two significant squares of the city, respectively. The former crosses Piazza Carignano, well known mainly for the undulating "concave – convex-concave" Baroque façade of Palazzo Carignano. This building used to host the Parlamento Subalpino (the 'Subalpine Parliament', Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia which also became the Italian Parliament for a few years, after the Italian unification) and today houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. The square also features the Teatro Carignano, a well-conserved Baroque theatre. Via Carlo Alberto crosses Piazza Carlo Alberto, a big square hosting the rear façade of Palazzo Carignano, in eclectic style. On the other side stands the monumental Biblioteca Nazionale (National Library).
  
  Not far from Via Po stands the symbol of Turin, namely the Mole Antonelliana, so named after the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. Construction began in 1863 as a Jewish synagogue. Nowadays it houses the National Museum of Cinema and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world at 167 m (548 ft). The building is depicted on the Italian 2-cent coin.
  
  Just behind Piazza Castello stands the Turin Cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, which is the major church of the city. It was built during 1491–1498 and is adjacent to an earlier bell tower (1470). Annexed to the cathedral is the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, the current resting place of the Shroud of Turin. The chapel was added to the structure in 1668–1694, designed by Guarini. The Basilica of Corpus Domini was built to celebrate an alleged miracle which took place during the sack of the city in 1453, when a soldier was carrying off a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament; the monstrance fell to the ground, while the host remained suspended in air. The present church, erected in 1610 to replace the original chapel which stood on the spot, is the work of Ascanio Vitozzi.
  
  Next to the Turin Cathedral stand the Palatine Towers, an ancient Roman -medieval structure that served as one of four Roman city gates along the city walls of Turin. This gate allowed access from north to the cardo maximus, the typical second main street of a Roman town. The Palatine Towers are among the best preserved Roman remains in northern Italy. Close to this site, the 51,300 m 2 (552,189 sq ft) Piazza della Repubblica plays host to the biggest open market in Europe, locally known as mercato di Porta Palazzo (Porta Palazzo or Porta Pila are the historical and local names of this area).
  
  West of the Porte Palatine stands the Quadrilatero Romano (Roman Quadrilateral), the old medieval district recently renewed. The current neighbourhood is characterised by its tiny streets and its several medieval buildings and today it is popular for its aperitivo bars and its small shops run by local artisans. The hub of the Quadrilatero is Piazza Emanuele Filiberto.
  
  South of the Quadrilatero Romano stands Via Garibaldi, another popular street of the city. It is a 1 km (0.6 mi) pedestrian street between Piazza Castello and Piazza Statuto which features some of the old shops of the city. Large Piazza Statuto is another example of Baroque square with arcades.
  
  Another main street of downtown is Via Pietro Micca, which starts in Piazza Castello and ends in the large Piazza Solferino. The street continues in Via Cernaia up to Piazza XVIII Dicembre, which features the former Porta Susa passengers building, relocated in 2012 a little more southward. The new and larger passengers building is situated between Corso Bolzano and Corso Inghilterra and is an example of contemporary architecture, being a 300 m-long (980 ft) and 19 m-high (62 ft) glass and steel structure. Porta Susa is currently the international central station of the city (high speed trains to Paris) and it is becoming the central hub of railway transportation of the city, being the station in which local trains (so-called Ferrovie Metropolitane), national trains and high-speed national and international trains converge.
  
  Close to Via Cernaia stands the Cittadella (Citadel), in the Andrea Guglielminetti garden. What remains of the old medieval and modern fortress of the city, it is a starting point for a tour into the old tunnels below the city.