Casa Del Pingone, Historic residence in Centro, Turin, Italy

Casa del Pingone is a four-storey building beside Piazza IV Marzo, opposite the Duomo and the Porta Palatina. Its modest facade hides the only medieval tower still visible in Turin, its Ghibelline merlons embedded in the masonry; traces of 16th-century cross windows remain on the Via Porta Palatina side. The top floor has a long loggia of round arches, and inside are decorated wooden ceilings and wall paintings with grotesques.

The house dates to the 15th century and was the residence of Emanuele Filiberto Pingone, a historian at the court of Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy. Born in Chambéry, he studied law in Padua and later served as ambassador to Nice. The building was remodelled several times in the 17th and 18th centuries and enlarged by incorporating a pre-existing medieval tower. After centuries of decay it was restored in 2000.

The building takes its name from Filiberto Pingone, court historian of Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy and author of a genealogy of the House of Savoy. Since 2016 it has housed an IQOS Embassy, a venue for presenting and selling the electronic device.

The building stands at the edge of Piazza IV Marzo, facing the Duomo and the Porta Palatina, a short walk from the medieval centre. It is a private building with no visitor facilities; since 2016 it has housed an IQOS Embassy. Look up at the facade for the restored carmine-red colouring and the loggia on the top floor.

The only medieval tower still visible in Turin is hidden inside this building: its Ghibelline battlements can still be made out within the masonry, topped by the later roof. Since 2016 the restored house has held an IQOS Embassy, a shop and presentation space for the electronic device.