A library overlooking the Po, one of the largest reading rooms in Europe, spaces to study, create, meet and learn, but also nature, universities, research and citizen participation.
Vale is born in Turin, a new widespread cultural center that aims to transform Valentino Park into one of the most innovative places in the city: an ecosystem where culture, environment and urban regeneration meet.
The name recalls Valentino, but also the value attributed to culture as a common good. The idea behind the project is to overcome the traditional concept of a library as a simple place to store books and create a true public space open to the community, accessible and alive throughout the year.
The heart of Vale will be the new Central Civic Library, created from the redevelopment of the former Torino Esposizioni, but the project will involve an entire area of the city, connecting the park, the Medieval Village, the Teatro Nuovo, the Botanical Garden, the headquarters of the University of Turin and the new campus of the Polytechnic of Turin.
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The new library on the Po
The opening of the new Central Civic Library is scheduled for December 11th, but the project will begin to come to life as early as November with a series of cultural events spread across the city. The structure will be public, with free entry and designed to welcome people with different needs: students, researchers, families, citizens, occasional readers and culture enthusiasts.
Inside, consultation, loan and booking services, computer stations, Wi-Fi connection, databases and digital collections will be available. Great attention will also be paid to accessibility, with books in different formats and technologies designed for blind, visually impaired and dyslexic people.
The spaces will be organized to create different environments:
The Nervi Hall will be one of the largest in Europe
One of the most anticipated elements of the project is the Sala Nervi, destined to become the largest reading room in Europe, with over 300 seats available. In the library complex there will be around 1,400 seats, distributed between traditional spaces and more informal areas, designed for reading, studying, working or simply spending time.
A part of the structure will also be dedicated to children and families, with spaces designed to make the library a place accessible to all ages.
There will also be the Unified City Information Point, a service that will offer information on municipal services, tourism, transport and digital tools.
Vale is not just about the library. In fact, the project aims to create a cultural district capable of uniting different disciplines.
The new campus of the Polytechnic of Turin, dedicated to architecture, design and urban planning, will also be located in the redeveloped spaces of the former Torino Esposizioni.
A central role will also be played by the Botanical Garden, founded in 1729 and today custodian of approximately three hectares of greenery with thousands of plant species from all over the world. The objective is to create a dialogue between humanistic culture, scientific research and relationship with nature, transforming Valentino into an open-air urban laboratory.
The project is signed by Icis and the Isolarchitetti and Rafael Moneo studios of Madrid.
First dates
Among the first events there will be “The imaginary library”, a cycle dedicated to the great classics of literature. On November 5th Chiara Valerio will inaugurate the path with a meeting dedicated to The name of the rose by Umberto Eco at the Gallerie d’Italia.
On November 10th, at OGR, Boosta and Matteo Caccia will present The inaudible citiesinspired by Invisible cities by Italo Calvino.
In the following years, the new center will also host some of Turin’s main cultural events, including the Biennale Democracy, the Turin Jazz Festival, the International Book Fair and the MITO festival.
Bosco Civico, a series of meetings dedicated to the relationship between nature, science and literature, will also start in 2027.
With Vale, Turin imagines a new way of experiencing culture: no longer separate spaces, but a system in which books, nature, research, technology and citizenship dialogue with each other. A library that does not limit itself to storing knowledge, but tries to generate it. But how beautiful is it?
