The Shopping Streets of Turin

The hot-air balloon is part of the Balon tradition and has become one of the symbols of the district. On the second Sunday of the month the market expands with the Gran Balon, devoted above all to antiques, vintage and collecting. On the other days the permanent shops of Borgo Dora remain, and they are still worth a look.

At via Po 17 stands the Palazzo dell'Università: if you can get into the courtyard, the loggia on two orders of columns deserves a short detour, also as an example of eighteenth-century university architecture. Once in piazza Vittorio, you can choose a café under the arcades or carry on towards the Po, with the view of the Gran Madre and the hill.

It is worth going as far as number 4 of via Stampatori, where Palazzo Scaglia di Verrua stands, a rare Turin example of architecture between the Renaissance and the early seventeenth century. The façade preserves the frescoes by Antonino Parentani, painted from 1603 onwards. When the main door is open, you can also see the arcaded courtyard with its decorations.

Among the shop windows, at number 25, you will find the Cappella della Congregazione dei Banchieri e Mercanti. Built in 1692, it preserves rich Baroque decorations: a detour that changes, for a few minutes, the tone of the walk.

It was designed by Pietro Carrera in 1873 and opened in 1874, modelled on the Parisian passages. The balconies, the inner shopfronts and the eclectic decorations mix Renaissance and Baroque references, in keeping with nineteenth-century taste.

The gallery has a long commercial tradition, above all tied to books: here you will find antiquarian bookshops such as La Casa del Libro and Gilibert. There are also the confectioner Baratti & Milano, which moved here in 1875, and the Cinema Romano.

If you love books, it is worth looking at the shop windows here too. La Casa del Libro, once also known as «l'Ebreo», is one of the gallery's historic businesses. The Galleria Gilibert, on the other hand, specialises in rare books, old prints and collectable posters.

Between one bookshop and the next you come across the old signs and shopfronts that have accompanied the commercial history of the passage since it opened. And the presence of the confectioner rounds off a thoroughly local habit: stepping into the gallery just to browse.

On one side is the nineteenth-century façade of Palazzo Carignano, now home to the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano. On the other, the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, whose façade incorporates elements of the former stables of the princes of Carignano.

In the centre stands the equestrian monument to Charles Albert, made by Carlo Marochetti and inaugurated in 1861.

The square is also a natural passage between the via Po area, the Galleria Subalpina and the nearby shopping streets. If you feel like stopping for a moment during your walk, there is no shortage of space here.

When Extravaganza comes to town, piazza Carlo Alberto changes its look and fills with stalls devoted to vintage fashion and twentieth-century design pieces.

It is a periodic market where you can look for clothing, accessories, costume jewellery and home furnishings. A different kind of stop from the boutiques of the nearby streets, especially if you enjoy rummaging through objects and garments that already have a story.

It is not a daily event, so it is worth bearing in mind when planning your walk.

The geometries and decorations reflect the taste of the 1930s; above, glass-block roofing and domes at the entrances. There is also a cinema: the Lux, opened in 1934 as the Rex, then called the Dux and finally the Lux since 1945. The entrance and the decorations deserve a look even if you are only passing through.

Moving from via Roma into the gallery, shopping changes scale: no longer a long arcaded street, but an interior where the shop windows line a short route, with one branch. You can cross it to reach via Bertola or via Santa Teresa, or simply take a turn among the shops. It is a different way of experiencing commerce in the centre, in a space designed to bring together shopping, offices and entertainment.

It was designed by Carlo di Castellamonte and construction began in 1637. On the southern side stand the twin churches of San Carlo Borromeo and Santa Cristina; the façade of the latter was designed by Filippo Juvarra and built between 1715 and 1717.

In the centre of the square, the nineteenth-century equestrian monument by Carlo Marochetti depicts Emmanuel Philibert and commemorates the victory of Saint-Quentin in 1557. For the Turinese it is simply 'l caval 'd brôns, the bronze horse.

The porticoes of piazza San Carlo are also a good place to alternate shopping with a few stops. Here you will find historic cafés such as Caffè San Carlo, Caffè Torino and Caval 'd Brôns, along with the Stratta confectionery.

Alongside these traditional businesses there are fashion and accessory shops. In the courtyard of Palazzo Villa, at number 161, is San Carlo dal 1973, a Turin boutique devoted to clothing and design.

The shop windows change, but the presence of the historic establishments continues to give character to a stroll under the porticoes.

The façades do not all speak the same language, even though the street was completely rebuilt between 1931 and 1937. Between piazza Castello and piazza San Carlo they take up the forms of eighteenth-century architecture; between piazza San Carlo and piazza Carlo Felice the Novecento and Rationalist styles prevail, with broad marble cladding. The plan was coordinated by Marcello Piacentini. Designer boutiques, clothing shops, accessories and other businesses accompany the walk.

Then there is the historic garden of Palazzo Cisterna, between via Carlo Alberto and via Maria Vittoria: after a long period of closure, it was reopened to the public in 2025. The entrance is at via Carlo Alberto 15. A pause in the greenery, in the midst of the shop windows, fits in well here.

The present name recalls Giuseppe Luigi Lagrange, the mathematician and astronomer born right here in 1736. At number 1/A you will find the shop of Guido Gobino, for gianduiotti, cremini and other specialities of Turin chocolate. Compared with via Roma, everything feels more intimate: the shop windows alternate with the façades of the buildings, to be admired without having to worry about cars.

The Hotel Roma overlooks the square: Cesare Pavese died there in 1950, in room 346. Opposite is Porta Nuova, the nineteenth-century station designed by Alessandro Mazzucchetti with the collaboration of Carlo Ceppi: great arches and wide windows on the façade, and today a shopping gallery inside as well.

On the square are the Olfattorio, devoted to perfumes, and Provasoli, a historic fabric shop opened in 1952. Via Mazzini continues with very different shops: the rare, illustrated and pop-up books of the Libreria Antiquaria Freddi; the vintage chandeliers of Antonio Minchillo; the customisable lighting of Creative Cables, among lamps, cables and lampshades. A little further on, in piazza Cavour, you will find Bagni Paloma, a clothing and accessories shop set in a former garage.

Piazza Madama Cristina is the landmark of the district, with a neighbourhood market whose history goes back to the nineteenth century. On some Sundays it also hosts themed markets, including San Salvario Emporium, devoted to contemporary crafts, illustration, design and independent production. Here it is worth leaving room for detours into the side streets, without a specific purchase in mind.