Caffè San Carlo: the tradition that is renewed under the arcades of Turin

In the heart of Piazza San Carlo, inside Palazzo Turinetti, the new San Carlo Café now presents itself as a place where history and contemporary design coexist in balance. Part of the Gallerie d'Italia Torino museum itinerary, the café returns as an iconic and convivial space reinterpreted without losing its identity. Created in 2022 and still evolving today, the project tells the story of how the dialogue between past and present can transform a historic café into an authentic and refined experience to be enjoyed every day over espresso.

Contemporary design and respect for history

The project, signed by lamatilde and realized with Saglietti Group, was born in 2022 and starts from a fundamental principle: not to alter the original elements. The large 19th-century chandelier remains the centerpiece of the room, around which a discreet intervention takes shape that is current and respectful of the memory of the place.

Tailored materials, details and solutions

A central element of the décor is the peninsula counter in canned oak and Emperador marble, a dialogue between textural warmth and historical elegance. They flank each other:
  • custom-made sofas with capitonné work, a tribute to Turin cafes of the late 19th century;
  • a suspended brass-finished metal bottle rack designed not to affect the original mirrors;
  • Integration of professional equipment with an aesthetic shell that enhances the environment.
An intervention in which design is put at the service of existing architecture.

Collaboration and land identity

Managed today by the Costardi Bros., Caffè San Carlo dialogues with the design philosophy of Gallerie d'Italia, between Baroque art and contemporary languages. For Saglietti Group, this was a special project, made possible thanks to the collaboration with lamatilde, the technical contribution of Francesco Saglietti and the design care of Daria Bergese. An installation that celebrates the most authentic Turin: the one capable of preserving the past and transforming it into the future.
Photo Credits: Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio

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