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The Underground Tunnels
Most European towns have an undergroung complex of sorts, the most famous being London (shades of Fu Manchu), Paris, Rome and, of course, Turin.
In Turin, the situation is rather complex, as we deal with various generations of Underground Passages. A short summary follows...
Generation 0
Underground temples of Pre-Roman/Early Roman have been described by various authors (contemporary sources) in what later became the perimeter of the early city. These should include a Temple of Mithra and a Temple of Vesta. On the latter's ruins it was later built, according to the tradition, a Benedectine Abbey.
Generation 1
Roman Sewers System - a square-grid network of channels, 0.60 m (2 feet) wide and 1.60 m (5.3 feet) high, currently running about three meters under the city pavements in the central area of town due to subsidence. The channels run North-South and East-West, draining towards the northeast.
Generation 2a
Defensive System from the XVI century - a multi-lever (probably 4 levels) series of mine and countermine galleries, at an average depth of 25 meters, escavated as part of the project of the Turin Citadel. Said galleries, about 1 m wide (3 feet) and 1.8 m high (6 feet) spread out from the Citadel (now in central Turin) and extend to a maximum of 2 kms in each direction. The exact number of mine and countermine galleries is unknown. This gallery network plays an important part in the town's history and folklore.
Generation 2b
Utility structures like Ice Chambers and subterranean mill channels were built in various locations through what is currently the center of town (and back then was the whole town), at a depth of 2 to 10 meters. These structures are concentrated along the banks of the Po and Dora rivers and in the old market area, but all major buildings can be assumed to have one or more independent subterranean ice chambers. One of these, about 2x4 meters, and about 3 meters deep, was uncovered during works in the courtyard of Palazzo Carignano in 1989, together with a early-medieval burial site.
Generation 3
Town Restructuration, XVII-XVIII century - all the new buildings in the Turin area were built so that the basements were interconnected, to grant a covered passage for servants and handymen. This network was later (XX c.) modified, putting doors or walls in the passages for safety and security reasons. Tunnels, probably following a previous pattern, should for instance connect the Accademia delle Scienze/Aegyptian Museum building, Palazzo Carignano, Palazzo Campana (the Fascist Party Seat during the '20s and '30s, and seat of the University before and after that), the National Library, Palazzo Madama and the Royal Palace.
Generation 4 - possibly apocriphal
According to popular belief, all the Savoy Royal buildings in the Turin area - including the Venaria Royal Palace, sort of an Italian Versailles, and the Villa della Regina (Queen's Villa) on the Turin Hill - are connected by a secret network of galleries wide enough to grant the passage of a coach and horses (sort of a private subway system). It must be noticed that these galleries are not the galleries described in the previous entry.
Said coach-sized galleries should date from the same time of the general restructuration, and be at a depth of more than 12 meters, to pass under the Po River without any problem.
A 10 meters wide gallery running on an East-West course under Via Po is effectively existant, but is probably part of the network described as Generation 2b.
Generation 5
Plans for the restructuration of town under the Fascist Party Rule included a subway system, and a main tract, with stations and support structures were escavated and finished in 1930, and never used.
Connecting Turin Station (Porta Nuova) with the hub of the town (Piazza Castello), the main gallery runs at about 3 meters under the pavement of central Via Roma, and parts of it have through the years served as an underground parking and as a warehouse.
Platform, ramps and support structures on the sides of the main gallery were later transformed into cinemas or locally incorporated in other structures.
The major (and only) source of information about the Turin Underground is the Army, and the Artillery Corp in particular - that is keeping its own counsel on the whole biz.
The official explanation is that, as the main development of passages was of a military interest as part of the Citadel defenses, the whole structure (or sum of structures) should fall under military jurisdiction.
Also interestingly, the Army started showing an interest in the subject after the publication, in the '20s, of a partial map of the town's subsurface on the Gazzetta del Popolo, a local newspaper. Artillery General (Ret.) Guido Amoretti has been involved in the whole show since then, and has been in charge of it since 1956.
The microfiches with the relevant copy of the Gazzetta del Popolo are no longer available.
Short tours of the Citadel underground are organized by the Pietro Micca Museum. Other tours, organized by enthusiasts and would-be occultists are rumored but so far failed in making an impression.
