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Crocetta (Turin)

The Crocetta is a district of Turin southwest of the city centre, within Circoscrizione 1 Centro - Crocetta, created in 1983; once freed from military use, the area between corso Galileo Ferraris, corso Duca degli Abruzzi and corso Einaudi became one of the favourite residential areas for Turin's upper and upper-middle classes.[1]

The name and its origins

The name comes from the church of Nostra Signora delle Grazie, known as "della Crocetta" because of the small red and blue cross on the habit of the Trinitarian fathers.[1] It was originally land outside the city walls: building began in the seventeenth century, but the area's present-day residential character only took shape in the twentieth century.[1] The current church of the Beata Vergine delle Grazie, at via Marco Polo 8, was built in 1887 to a neo-medieval design by the architect Ferrari d'Orsara, and was struck by bombs on 20 November 1942 and 8 August 1943.[2]

The Piazza d'Armi

From 1872 to 1906 the city's third Piazza d'Armi (parade ground) occupied the area between what are now corso Galileo Ferraris, corso Einaudi, corso Castelfidardo and corso Montevecchio, where the pedestrian square in front of the Politecnico stands today; part of the land passed to the State Railways, and the railway workers' cooperative built housing there.[3] The district includes Art Nouveau (Liberty-style) buildings such as the one at the corner of via Torricelli and corso Duca degli Abruzzi, built in 1912 by the architect Vittorio Eugenio Ballatore di Rosana.[4]

The Politecnico and the GAM

The Politecnico's premises at corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 were built from the early 1950s on the site of the Stadium, the sports facility from the 1911 exposition, and were inaugurated on 11 November 1958 in the presence of President Giovanni Gronchi; the project was promoted by Antonio Capetti, dean of the Engineering faculty and later rector.[5] At via Magenta 31, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna occupies the building designed by Carlo Bassi and Goffredo Boschetti, winners of the 1951 competition, which opened in 1959 on the site of the corso Siccardi pavilion destroyed by bombing.[6]

The market

The Crocetta market began in the early 1920s in largo Cassini and later spread to via Marco Polo and vicolo Crocetta: the food stalls are set up in the square near the church, while the rest occupy the surrounding streets — an unusual arrangement for Turin's markets — and its clothing section draws customers even from France.[7] It is open Monday to Friday from 7am to 2pm and on Saturday until 7pm.[8]

Today

According to Idealista data from July 2026, rents in the Crocetta have reached 13.6 euros per square metre, up 7.9% in a year, the sharpest rise in the city.[9] Local shopkeepers' associations organise street festivals such as "Crocetta in Festa" on corso De Gasperi and "Giochiamo", which on 20 September 2026 closed via Cristoforo Colombo to traffic for fifty giant wooden games.[10][11]

Related articles: International Exposition of Industry and Labor (1911)

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. MuseoTorino
  2. MuseoTorino
  3. MuseoTorino
  4. MuseoTorino
  5. MuseoTorino
  6. MuseoTorino
  7. MuseoTorino
  8. Città di Torino — 31 December 2025
  9. Torino Oggi — 17 August 2026
  10. Torino Oggi — 22 May 2025
  11. Torino Oggi — 19 September 2026

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