The district known today as Vanchiglia was built in the 1840s at the behest of the
Marquises of Barolo.The buildings were built by the Constructors Society of Vanchiglia and by the architect
Alessandro Antonelli (known today primarily as the designer of the
Mole Antonelliana). As compensation for his work, he was also given the very small lot on the left corner of the current Via Giulia di Barolo. Negotiations to buy the neighboring lot failed, perhaps as a bet or perhaps as a challenge, he decided to construct a building with an apartment on each floor on the very tiny lot despite the limited space available. He wished to recover in height what could not be exploited in width. The building was built in several phases: in 1840 the first four floors were built and, later, two more were added; the top floor was added in 1881 as a further demonstration of architectural dexterity. Having won this architectural challenge, Antonelli donated the building to his wife. The building, having now become the symbol of the district soon earned the nickname,"Slice of polenta," by virtue of the unusual trapezoidal plan and the prevailing yellow color. It also became known for hosting the Caffè del Progresso on the ground floor, a historic Turin meeting place for
Carbonari and revolutionaries. To dispel doubts about its stability and to challenge those who claimed that the building would collapse, Antonelli, with his wife, moved there for a few years to live. A further proof of its soundness was its ability to survive unscathed from the explosion of the royal powder magazine in Borgo Dora, which took place on April 24, 1852, and seriously damaged many buildings in the area. Moreover, it also resisted the earthquake of 23 February 1887, which damaged part of the neighborhood; finally, it was spared from the
bombings of Turin during World War II which hit the surrounding blocks hard. In 1974, on the occasion of the centenary of the death of
Niccolò Tommaseo, the Municipality of Turin placed a plaque in memory of his stay in the building in 1859. Between 1979 and 1982 the building was the subject of a first major restoration and a particular decoration of its interiors by the architect and set designer
Renzo Mongiardino, who worked on all nine floors of the building, transforming it into a single housing unit. Listed among the buildings protected by the Architectural Heritage of Piedmont, in March 2005 the building was the subject of a judicial auction ordered by the Court of Turin and was definitively awarded in the third round of auction in January 2006. Between the summer of 2007 and the spring of 2008, the building underwent a global internal restructuring and a careful conservative restoration commissioned by the new owner. From March 2008 to May 2013 it changed its intended use, becoming the container for the projects of the Franco Noero gallery, thus returning to the status of a private home in the summer of 2013, while maintaining contemporary art installations that can be visited privately. == Description ==