Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets
Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Turin. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Turin Turin guide
About Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets
Turin's main shopping boulevard running under 18 km of historic arcades from Piazza Castello to Piazza Carlo Felice, the world's longest continuous system of covered walkways.
Via Roma is Turin's main north-south commercial artery, running from Piazza Castello in the north to Piazza Carlo Felice and the main railway station in the south, passing through Piazza San Carlo at the midpoint. Like all of Turin's major streets, Via Roma is lined on both sides with continuous arcaded porticoes, the portici, that provide an unbroken covered walkway for the entire length of the street. These arcades, which extend throughout the historic centre in a network of over 18 kilometres, are Turin's most distinctive architectural feature. They were not built at one time but accumulated over three centuries of Baroque and neoclassical building, always following the same design convention: uniform height, regular columns, continuous pavement undercover. The system means that a Turinese resident can walk from the railway station to Piazza Castello, turn right and walk to Piazza Vittorio, and never be rained on, regardless of the weather. Via Roma itself is the prime luxury shopping street, lined with Gucci, Prada, Bulgari, and the major Italian fashion houses, alongside Turin's historic cafes and confectioners.
Did you know? Bologna has more arcading in total, around 38 km, but in disconnected stretches: of Turin's 18 km of porticoes, some 12.5 km run unbroken and to a far more uniform design, one of the longest continuous covered walkway systems anywhere.
How long is a visit to Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets worth your time?
Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets is among the 22 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Turin, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Turin
Hear the story of Via Roma & Turin's Arcaded Shopping Streets
Preview the Turin tour free in the Gingerguide app.