Piazza Statuto, Turin

Piazza Statuto sits in the western quarter of Turin, where the sun sets. In the occult geography that has attached itself to the city, the west is the side of death. The square was built over a Roman necropolis. Before that, it was the vallis occisorum, the valley of the slain. In the medieval period, it served as an execution ground.

The Obelisk

At the center of the piazza stands an obelisk topped by a five-pointed star, erected in 1879 to commemorate the Fréjus Rail Tunnel. Occultists point out that the star is not oriented as a Christian symbol. The monument stands on the exact spot, they claim, where executions were carried out. Whether this is verifiable is less important than the fact that it is believed.

The Triangle

Turin has been placed at one vertex of two alleged occult triangles. The triangle of white magic connects Turin, Lyon, and Prague. The triangle of black magic connects Turin, London, and San Francisco. No historical source predates the twentieth century for either claim, but the idea has become part of the city’s identity.

The Underground

Turin’s underground tells a different story from its elegant Baroque surface. Roman and medieval tunnels run beneath the city center. The Museo Egizio, one of the world’s most important Egyptian collections, holds the Mensa Isiaca, a bronze tablet depicting Isis that Renaissance scholars believed contained encoded Egyptian wisdom. The Devil’s Door at Via XX Settembre 40 carries carvings that guidebooks describe as demonic.

Visiting

Piazza Statuto is a public square in central Turin, freely accessible at all hours. The Museo Egizio is nearby. Several companies offer occult walking tours of Turin’s esoteric sites. The city is roughly two hours from Milan by train.