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Murazzi del Po

The Murazzi del Po are the stone embankment walls, about six metres high, that run along the left bank of the Po in the centre of Turin: built to protect the city from erosion by the river, their arches have over time housed boat shelters, venues and, in the second half of the twentieth century, a major part of the city's nightlife.[1][3][4]

Construction

The embankment walls were built in stages, and sources date them differently. An entry in MuseoTorino attributes the design to Carlo Bernardo Mosca, built in 1833-1835 as a variant of a 1808-1809 project by Pertinchamp, and dates the stretches at Corso Cairoli and Lungo Po Cadorna to 1873; another source places the first stretch in 1870-1880, designed by engineer Tommaso Prinetti of the Civico Uffizio d'Arte after the demolition of the remains of the Borgo del Moschino; according to Torino Oggi, the works ran from 1872 to 1910.[3][2][4]

Conceived as a tree-lined promenade and a landing place for fishing, the Murazzi had semi-underground premises connected to the river by ramps and stairs; they were used for fishing, laundering and court festivities, and until the 1950s as boat shelters.[2][3][4] Their base sits on average at an elevation of 220 metres, about ten metres below the edge of the terrace on which the city stands, and the area is still easily flooded during high water: MuseoTorino recalls those of 5 May 1999, 16 October 2000, 30 May 2008 and 16 June 2010.[1]

Music and nightlife

Between the 1950s and 1970s pollution drove fishermen away and the area declined; from the late 1970s a revival transformed it within a few years into the heart of Turin's nightlife.[4] From the 1990s the arches, with live music and DJ sets, were the setting for the city's alternative entertainment scene: among the best-known venues were Doctor Sax and Giancarlo, which hosted bands such as Subsonica, The Beach and Puddhu Bar.[5] On 28 September 2017 two stretches of the Murazzi were named after Fred Buscaglione and Gipo Farassino.[5]

Closures and revival

Between October 2012 and June 2013 the judiciary seized several venues and others were sealed over alleged building violations; on 19 June 2013 the CSA Murazzi social centre, active since 1989, was also seized.[3] On 23 March 2014 the mobilisation "Torino e i Murazzi sono la mia città" collected open letters from thousands of citizens to the mayor.[3] In 2022 the company Edit announced the renovation of six arches of the Magazzini Devalle, about 450 square metres, for 600,000 euros, but by the summer of that same year many arches were still closed and the boat service was suspended.[6][7]

In January 2025 arches 89-93 were assigned to the association COCOON, which works on sport and disability, and the return of boats on the Po was announced for the end of 2026, with over 3.2 million euros from the PNRR.[8] After the flood of April 2025, the venues reopened on 19 April with restrictions, once the mud had been removed.[9] On 5 June 2026, in arches 6-12 on the side named after Fred Buscaglione, unused for over ten years, "DesTEENazione - Desideri in Azione" was inaugurated, a space for young people costing over 3.8 million euros in European and municipal funds, managed by ARCI Torino together with eighteen third-sector organisations.[10]

Timeline

  • — The Sponda Fest returns to the Murazzi del Po in Turin on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, with music, talks and a free-entry market. → Torino Free

Related articles: The Po in Turin

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. MuseoTorino
  2. MuseoTorino
  3. MuseoTorino
  4. Torino Oggi — 13 October 2018
  5. MuseoTorino —
  6. Torino Oggi — 28 February 2022
  7. Torino Oggi — 4 August 2022
  8. Torino Oggi — 10 February 2025
  9. Torino Oggi — 19 April 2025
  10. Città di Torino — 5 June 2026

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