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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Turin

19 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Turin, Italy

Updated February 18, 2025

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Architecture 7
History & Culture 4
Architectural Oddities 4
Hoaxes And Pseudoscience 2
Sacred Spaces 2
Design 2
Calendars 2
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The neuroscientist’s brain is brownish and small, but is otherwise virtually unchanged from the 1800s.

A Man in 19th-Century Italy Preserved His Own Brain to Fight Eugenics

Visit Turin to see the organ—and learn how to preserve your own.
by Dania Rodrigues
The Shroud of Turin, currently housed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, was first shown publicly in the 14th century.

What Is the Shroud of Turin and Why Is It Controversial?

The centuries-old cloth has a long history of stoking both faith and skepticism.
by Eric Vanden Eykel
For more than a decade, opera singer Daria Spada (center) and punk guitarist Maksim Cristan (far left) have performed free weekly concerts on their apartment balcony in Turin, Italy.

How an Apartment Balcony Became One of Italy's Best-Known Stages

Nothing—not city fines, a pandemic, or home renovations—can stop the music.
by Simone Lai
A mockup of the ExoMars rover rolls off its landing platform at the Rover Operational Control Centre near Turin, Italy. The facility is designed to simulate what conditions will be like on Mars when the actual rover, named Rosalind Franklin, arrives in 2022.

Europe's New Mars Yard Is Like a Playground for Planetary Engineers

Thanks, in part, to 150 tons of soil belched out by Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.
by A. J. Oliveira
Sate & Sake, opened two years ago, is quite likely the only Malaysian food truck in Italy.

Italy's Only Malaysian Food Truck Draws an Unlikely Crowd: Italians

Justin Yip's satay is winning over nationalistic eaters.
by Luke Fater
Faux produce on display at Turin’s Fruit Museum.

When Royalty, Scientists, and Gardeners All Wanted Fake Fruit

One collection of fake produce is a reminder of both ingenuity and loss.
by Vittoria Traverso
The Perpetual Calendar tracks 4,000 years with nine rolls and a hand-operated crank.

This Perpetual Calendar Hidden in an Italian Chapel Is a Mathematical Marvel

The 19th-century device accurately tracks 4,000 years with nine cylinders and a crank.
by A. J. Oliveira
This fragment of a mummy mask from the Egyptian Museum in Turin shows a mummification scene, dating to between 332 B.C. and 30 B.C. New research suggests that deliberate mummification rituals date back thousands of years further.

Found: A Mummification Recipe From Prehistoric Egypt

New research shows ancient embalmers were using resins and gums far earlier than we thought.
by Jessica Leigh Hester

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