TURIN. Marinella also arrives in Turin and the Galleria San Federico prepares to add the final bit to a journey that has taken her from oblivion to the stratosphere of city shopping in ten years. The news came yesterday from Maurizio Marinella, head of the company that makes the world’s most famous ties, with shops or department stores in Milan, Rome, Tokyo, New York, Paris, London – where he was urged to make black ties on the Queen’s death Elizabeth for the heads of state – and Barcelona: “We are planning to open a shop in the Galleria San Federico in September because the Piedmontese capital is an important place for us,” explained Marinella.
The small shop, which opened in Naples in 1914, has established itself as the most important brand in its sector and, after ending 2022 with a 22% increase in sales, is now turning to the pier. And that is no coincidence in the Galleria San Federico. If anything, it is the last leg of a long journey that has seen the revitalization of this corner of Turin, which today is one of the most attractive for those who shop.
Ten years ago there was little or nothing left of it. It was a dark corner that people liked to avoid. One of those places left behind over time. The Cinema Lux came through, but it was far from its glory. The tobacco shop existed, but after twenty years it moved to Via Maria Vittoria. And there was the Bar San Federico. In short, little if you look at what it has become today.
What happened? That from 2015 the investments have arrived. First the Fiorfood Coop, with a shop and bar. Then the Atelier Emé. Finally, Victoria’s Secret, last October, with a thousand square meter store. To name just the best known. Then the redesign of the San Federico Bar, the redesigned Lux, the street artists who, with their music, have transformed it into one of the most famous promenades, as well as a shopping street that attracts even the most important brands in the world.
Once Marinella takes office, only one display case will be available. As I said, an unthinkable goal ten years ago. «An illuminated window is another opportunity to continue the relaunch of the gallery – explains Laura Curto of Atelier Emé, a formal wear boutique – This has become a unique area for high-level shopping in every sense».
It has nothing to envy to Via Roma, the shopping artery par excellence, where big brands have long landed, the only ones who can bear the expense of such spaces. In addition, it is a wider axis than that of the Galleria alone that has been relaunched. In fact, the Gallerie d’Italia, the Museum Intesa San Paolo, recently opened in the nearby Piazza San Carlo.
And after two years of closure, the reopening of the Caffè San Carlo was completed in December thanks to the Costardi Bros project, which will also open the Scatto restaurant at the end of the month. «The revitalization of the city and the center is important and has been made possible by the great joint work of the municipality, institutions and private individuals – explains Christian Costardi, chef and owner – Marinella’s arrival is important and symbolizes what we are doing here: the past to take it, tell it, transmit it as an emotion and project it into the future in order to accelerate the city’s transition to an international dimension”.