The present-day municipal offices of Turin were designed by architect Francesco Lanfranchi (1663) following the Baroque project by Emanuele Tesauro, on the site of the previous, medieval, municipal building. It looks onto piazza Palazzo di Città which, before the last redesign in the 1700s, was known as piazza delle Erbe.
The building was originally narrower and did not have the additional height with the clock and the large shield of the Savoy-Orléans family, flanked by bronze lions, works that were destroyed in 1799 by the Jacobins. The building was inaugurated with one of several parties that celebrated the marriage of the Duke to Princess Francoise Madeleine d’Orléans which included an imposing firework display on the square in front.
The building was largely redesigned by Benedetto Alfieri who added the two wings on via Garibaldi and via Corte d'Appello incorporating the square “del Butirro” behind as a courtyard. Further modifications were made by the architects Francesco Valeriano Dellala di Beinasco, Luigi Barberis and Filippo Castelli. The building hosted the city’s representatives and administration offices between the 17th and 19th centuries.
Film Commission Torino Piemonte
Via Cagliari 42 — 10153 Torino
Phone: +39 011 2379201
Fax: +39 011 2379298
Email: info@fctp.it
