This weekend I visited the northern Italian cities of Genoa and Turin. Other than Milan, they are the other two cities that make up Italy’s Industrial Triangle. Walking around Genoa it was really interesting to experience the city and see how it was laid out. Unlike Milan or Turin, Genoa is built on steep hills overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and it serves as Italy’s biggest port. While most of the city is laid out fairly randomly, and built along winding roads that curl around the hills, the center of town was organized around a large fountain with large boulevards radiating away from it. Along these streets were dozens of ornate buildings with massive arcades.
Turin, like Genoa, had a central boulevard with arcades. However, Turin was much more organized in terms of city planning. It was the first capital of Italy, from 1865 to 1869, and this was quite clear from the main street Via Roma, that spanned from a vibrant train station through a central square and multiple eras of architecture before ending at a giant plaza with a fountain and cathedral.
A key difference as well between the two cities was that Genoa had far more immigrants and was more aimed at tourists, especially near the harbor. Turin looked the same as it probably did several decades ago, with the immigrant neighborhoods outside of the central business district. In the early 1900s, part of the city was leveled to expand Via Roma and its arcades to connect it with the train station. The architecture style looked very similar to Milan’s Centrale Station as they were both done under Mussolini.
