Borgo Navile and Porta Navina

Borgo Navile developed from the Middle Ages onwards as a commercial area and gateway to the town of Moncalieri thanks to its proximity to the River Po. It owes its name to the “navile”, or small river port from which goods departed and arrived. Due to its strategic position, the village was long guarded by the Knights Templar, who protected the bridge across the river and the hospice for pilgrims along the Via Francigena. The Porta Navina, now also known as the Arco di Vittorio Emanuele II, is the most obvious sign of the passage between the riverside village and the town centre. Surmounted by a 19^th-century attic, it bears a bronze high relief commemorating the Proclamation of Moncalieri. Beyond the gate lies Via San Martino, an urban thoroughfare lined with tower houses, noble palaces and bourgeois residences that bear witness to the continuity of urban life over the centuries. Piazza dei Caduti per la Libertà, the heart of the village, is now a place of remembrance and the ideal starting point for discovering the old town. The whole neighbourhood retains its authentic charm, with an atmosphere reminiscent of the old river port and its commercial vocation.