borgo san paolo
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Borgo San Paolo was born as working-class district even before the rise of FIAT. It is situated in the western zone of the city, and it is delimited from Corso Trapani, Corso Mediterraneo, Corso Peschiera and the railway. It raised outside the walls of the city so it was the perfect district where to hold factories and all their workers, for example Lancia or Fergat. Thanks to the industrialization Borgo San Paolo rose incredibly from 4000 to 200000 residents in 1900.
A process of requalification had been carried out during the 90's, and it had effect especially on Borgo San Paolo. Disused industrial parks are now housing estates. The cohabitation between new and old structures is the particularity of this district, and it makes it very lively.
A curiosity: the urban structure of Borgo San Paolo's centre has the form of a spider's web and it has Piazza Robiliant as centre, while the structure of the city has a chessboard diagram.
points of interest
Visualizza Borgo San Paolo in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori
Historical Lancia skyscraper
Via Vincenzo Lancia, 26
The Lancia skyscraper was built between 1954 and 1957 by the architect Nino Rosani, for want of the engineer Gianni Lancia that wanted to reunite all the offices of the car company. The building has 14 floors and a length of 65 meters and it represents for the community the symbol of the district Borgo San Paolo. Today there are offices inside, but no more Lancia's offices.
Merz Foundation
Via Limone, 24
The power station of Lancia was one of all the building restructured by the requalification, and since 2005 it has hosting the Merz Foundation. Mario Merz (1925 - 2003) was an artist that lived in Turin. He is famous all around the world for his usage of particular materials to create his operas of poor-contemporary art (one example is the igloo fountain - see below). The objective of the foundation is conserving his operas and making them accessible through expositions. The power station was chosen by Mario Merz himself as place where to expose his creations.
http://fondazionemerz.org/?lang=en
tel. +39.011.19719437
fax +39.011.19719805
[email protected]
Prices: full price 5€ / reduced price 3,50€ (students, groups 10 persons minimum) / free: children until 10 years, over65, disableds) / free every first sunday of the month.
Pedestrian Zone Via di Nanni
This is one of the most pictoresque zone of the district. The municipality started in 2003 a project called 100 squares for Turin with the objective of relaunching some areas of the city. The project completely worked here, and now via di Nanni is a meeting place. It hosts various shops and the daily local market. The distinctive element is San Bernardino Church which is situated at the end of the pedestrian zone.
Igloo fountain
Crossroads between Corso Lione and Corso Mediterraneo
It was realized by Mario Merz with stone plates and neon lights indicating the cardinal points. As it is written the description: " An igloo made of stones, glass and neon is emerging from the water of a traffic circle in the middle of the traffic. The igloo represents a house, a refuge, a place where a journey begins or ends. It is the point around which everything revolves, the junction of the world.
Filippo Piredda park
Between Via Isonzo, Corso Rosselli and Via Issiglio
Filippo Piredda park belongs to a green area which is born thanks to the requalification of Borgo San Paolo. From the park it is possible to see a particular housing estate characterized by coloured slides on the top. These buildings represent the new part of Borgo San Paolo.
Sandretto Re Rabaudengo foundation
Via Modane, 16
Sandretto Re Rebaudengo foundation has born from the requalification of Fergat's building. It hosts exhibitions of contemporary atr and it is one of the most important cultural centre of the district. The steel cylinder outside is a fragment that origially belonged to a cylinder that measured more than 200 metres. On the base of the project of contemporary art The Cord the cylinder was divided into 12 parts that were placed in 12 different italian cities.
http://www.fsrr.org/eng/info-ed-eventi
Phone: +39 011 3797600
Openings:
Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday: closed / Thursday: 8.00 pm - 11.00 pm: free entry / Friday - Saturday - Sunday: 12.00 pm - 7.00 pm
Prices:
Full Price € 5 / Reduced Price € 3 (over 65, students) / Groups € 4 (10 people minimum) / Free (for children till 12, Insieme per l’Arte, Amici della Stella, Torino Musei pass, accredited journalists, members ICOM)
The museum is fully accesible to the disableds.
Printing house Mycrom
Via Spalato, 59/a
http://www.mycrom.it/?lang=eng
The Mycrom is a printing house that realizes printings over textil. Its seat in the past was one of Fergat's factories. Inside the Mycrom' showroom it is possible to find some example of the printings realized, and outside it everybody can admires the biggest murales of Turin; more than 254 square metres portraying famous characters of comics.
Polyfunctional center "Ex-Fergat"
Via Milio, 20
As the Mycrom, this center was born from the requalification of Fergat's factories. The polyfunctional center hosts various activities like the elder people cultural center, a document's center, a disabled people comunity, a conference room and the seat of Fergat's committee.
Plevna Family cottage
Via Muriaglio, 19
It has been called "slice of polenta" for its particular form, it is one of the houses that had been dominating the zone during the 1900 that still exists.
Dice seats - watering can fountain
Corner between Via di Nanni and Via Carrù - Corner between Via di Nanni and Via Volvera
Both the dice seats and the watering can fountain are inside the pedestrian zone of Via di Nanni. Both of them are installations and are part of the renovation project 100 squares for Turin, that made this part of the district a pedestrian zone.