The secret courtyards of the Quadrilatero Romano, the Turin that opens up behind the gates

The Quadrilatero Romano is the oldest heart of Turin, the rectangle of streets that traces the perimeter of the castrum of the Roman colony of Julia Augusta Taurinorum. Today it is made of narrow, cobbled streets, artisan workshops and eateries, but its secret does not lie on the street: it lies behind the gates. All it takes is for one to be left ajar to glimpse an inner courtyard, a well of light and silence suspended a few metres from the traffic.

Behind the gates

These are courtyards born of a domestic, bourgeois past, guarded by 18th- and 19th-century palazzi. Inside you find stone staircases worn by footsteps, wrought-iron railings, loggias and balconies rising towards high, shady floors. Walking unhurried between Via delle Orfane, Via San Domenico and the nearby alleys, you discover that every entrance hall tells a different story, and that the monumental city here becomes intimate, almost private.

Palaces and history

Not far away, along Via delle Orfane, stands Palazzo Falletti di Barolo, a noble residence where Silvio Pellico, author of My Prisons, lived and worked as a librarian until his death. A little beyond, towards Piazza della Consolata, the Baroque Sanctuary bears the signature of the great architects who designed Turin. And right in the neighbourhood, among the most recent excavations, a Roman domus with mosaic decorations has re-emerged: proof that here you walk on layers of centuries piled one upon another.

From these streets the Mole Antonelliana always stays close, a familiar presence on the horizon. Designed by Alessandro Antonelli and completed in 1889, born as a synagogue and today home to the National Cinema Museum, it marks the sky of the centre. But the beauty of the Quadrilatero is that it invites you to look down, inside the gates, rather than up towards the usual postcards.

Practical tips

Go early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the light slants across the entrance halls. Respect the silence: many courtyards are private, admire them from the threshold without disturbing those who live there. A couple of hours on foot are enough to cross an entire neighbourhood without a queue or a ticket, and to come home with the impression of having seen a Turin that most people don't stop to look for.

Related guides: Hidden Piedmont: off-the-circuit villages between the Occitan valleys and Monferrato · Langhe and Monferrato by train: a slow weekend between Alba, Barolo and Canelli.

How to get there

The Quadrilatero Romano is the oldest core of Turin, between Piazza Castello and Porta Palazzo, and is visited entirely on foot. The reference railway stations are Torino Porta Nuova and Porta Susa, both a short distance away and connected by the automatic metro. The airport is Turin-Caselle, reachable from the centre by train and bus. As this is a central, largely pedestrian area, it is best to get around without a car.

Practical guides for Torino

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