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Via Roma

The arcaded thoroughfare that connects piazza Castello to piazza Carlo Felice, fully pedestrianised since September 2026.

The crowd under the arcades during the celebration for the new pedestrian via Roma
The crowd under the arcades during the celebration for the new pedestrian via Roma — From the publication by La Stampa, 2026-09-13

Via Roma is the thoroughfare that connects piazza Castello to piazza Carlo Felice, in front of the Porta Nuova railway station, passing through piazza San Carlo and piazza C.L.N. Lined with arcades, it is one of the city's emblematic streets; since September 2026 it has been fully pedestrianised [1].

The pedestrianisation project

The project was approved by the City Council on a proposal from the Mobility Councillor Chiara Foglietta and involved the complete repaving in stone and the raising of the road surface to the level of the arcades, in order to eliminate the architectural barriers between the street and the arcaded space. Before the new paving, the waterproofing of the slab and the entire stormwater drainage network were redone [2].

The works covered more than seven hundred metres of street, over an area of almost twelve thousand square metres, with benches, bollards and planters. The intersection with piazza Castello was reorganised with two pedestrian links that extend the arcaded routes, reducing the GTT bus stop bay and moving the traffic-light poles; the road layout near via Po was also modified, to allow traffic coming from the Giardini Reali to turn towards piazza Vittorio. All the traffic-light systems along the street were renewed [2].

The opening celebration

On Saturday 12 September 2026 the ribbon was cut by mayor Stefano Lo Russo together with councillors Chiara Foglietta and Domenico Carretta and the president of ASCOM Confcommercio, Maria Luisa Coppa. According to the City, more than fifty thousand people took part in the celebration between piazza Castello and piazza Carlo Felice, with performances in piazza San Carlo, a tango flash mob in the Galleria San Federico, a piano open to the public in piazza Carlo Felice, and concerts in churches, museums and cultural venues in the centre. The Museo Egizio, the MAO, Palazzo Madama, the State Archive and the Museo del Risorgimento opened free of charge on an exceptional basis; around a hundred shops stayed open until late in the evening [1].

The celebration marked the end of the redevelopment works that completed the pedestrianisation of the more than six hundred metres between the two squares [1]. The opening was covered by the city's newspapers as the start of a new season for the street [3][4].

Via Roma at the cinema

During the celebration, clips were screened from the more than one hundred films that have had via Roma as a backdrop, and in piazza C.L.N. the Blue Bar from «Profondo rosso» ("Deep Red"), among the best-known films shot in Turin, was recreated [1].

Pedestrianisation (September 2026)

In September 2026 via Roma was inaugurated as a pedestrian street by mayor Stefano Lo Russo, at the end of a year of works funded with 12 million euros of European funds.

Chronology

  • — Via Roma was inaugurated as a pedestrian street by mayor Stefano Lo Russo, at the end of a year of works funded with 12 million euros from European funds. → La Stampa la Repubblica Torino
  • — Employees of the Apple Store on via Roma go on strike together with their Italian colleagues on the day the new iPhone is released: a picket from nine o'clock in front of the shop, with around a hundred and seventy staff in Turin. → La Stampa TorinoOggi

Related articles: Gruppo Torinese Trasporti, Museo Egizio, Pedestrianization of Via Roma (September 2026), Stefano Lo Russo, Transport in Turin

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. TorinoClick — 14 September 2026
  2. TorinoClick
  3. La Stampa — 13 September 2026
  4. la Repubblica Torino — 13 September 2026

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