It is the most important square in Turin, in the very center of the city.

It was designed by Ascanio Vitozzi in 1584, ruined during the civil war (1637/1640) and rebuilt by Christine Marie of France, regent of Savoy.

It is a big quadrangular square surrounded by arcade; it measures 40000 sm. Many famous buildings give onto the square, including Palazzo Madama and Palazzo Reale. The most important Turin streets join here (Via Po, Via Garibaldi and Via Roma)

The biggest part of the square is now a pedestrian precinct and the square is used for big city events.

Under the arcade there is a historical café, the Caffè Malussano, which looks the same of when Garibaldi and king Vittorio Emanuele II drank to the health of the new Italian kingdom.