Torino's Cultural Spine: 8 Must-See Stops Along the City's Urban Renewal Corridor

A cultural constellation is forming along Torino's 'spina centrale' (central spine), a major urban renewal project centered on burying railway traffic. The route links historic and recent institutions like the Galleria d'Arte Moderna and Fondazione Merz, with public artworks including Mario Merz's Igloo and Giuseppe Penone's Albero-Giardino. The itinerary, best done by bicycle, includes the trattoria Oca Fola (opened 1998, serving local cuisine like bagna cauda and fritto misto), the studio of artist Ugo Nespolo (who decorated metro stations), the Renzo Piano-designed grattacielo for Intesa Sanpaolo (topped by a lounge bar and restaurant by chef Fabio Macrì and bartender Mirko Turconi), the OGR (Officine Grandi Riparazioni) cultural hub hosting Club to Club and Artissima, the Politecnico di Torino (adjacent to OGR, with a planned business accelerator), the PalaBraccini indoor climbing center (1,000 sqm, 18m walls, 40 routes), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Claudio Silvestrin's white parallelepiped, awaiting its Madrid venue), and Casa Okumé (a private home by Raimondo Guidacci & Paola Maré, visitable via Open House). The article by Marco Enrico Giacomelli appears in Artribune Magazine #40.