Piazza San Carlo it is one of the most important squares in Turin, also called the Salotto d'Italia for its size and for its cafes that in the summer make everyone sit on the square, welcoming the sun that comes and having a good coffee. 168 meters long and 76 meters wide, the square connects Square Castle in Piazza Carlo Felice.
Throughout history it has taken the names of Piazza Reale, Piazza d'Armi and then, in the Napoleonic period, Place Napoléon. Since 1618, it is dedicated to San Carlo Borromeo.
In the center of the square is the equestrian monument dedicated to Emanuele Filiberto in the act of sheathing the sword after the victory of San Quentin. In the 60s the square was illuminated with the characteristic Empire street lamps. Photograph of the square at the beginning of the century. Piazza San Carlo it did not exist before the XNUMXth century. When the Savoy capital was transferred to Turin in 1563, the city was still inside the ancient Roman walls, the Roman quadrial to understand, then reinforced by the French in the sixteenth century. It was Carlo di Castellamonte who planned the expansion of the city towards the south, as per the orders of the Duke of Savoy: in 1638 the square was inaugurated, and Maria Cristina of France, widow of Vittorio Amedeo I ordered the construction of the monumental arcades, then decorated by military trophies from Carlo Emanuele III.
Le two twin churches of Santa Cristina and San Carlo, those that can be seen behind the equestrian statue in the photo, were then very different. But that's another story.
