1800s
During the 1800s, Turin crossed the River Po and extended up the hillside: this was when the Gran Madre di Dio church was built. The impressive Piazza Vittorio Veneto opened on the banks of the Po, opposite the neoclassical cathedral and connected by the Vittorio Emanuele I bridge, which offers a magnificent view of Monte del Cappuccini. The church is a mausoleum-ossuary commemorating the First World War.
Turin’s iconic Mole Antonelliana was built in 1899, designed by the visionary genius Alessandro Antonelli, and at 167.5 metres, it was Europe’s tallest building for many years. Today it is the home of the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, that has been given an eye-catching futuristic design by the Swiss architect François Confino. The panoramic lift accesses the spire all year round.
As the 19th century slid into the 20th, Art Nouveau prevailed in Turin: an elegant style with refined details that was expressed here in a number of middle-class houses across the city: on Corso Francia, on the hillside and in the area around the Valentino Park.
