Italian Job Tour 06

Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the River Po

The Colonnades, the Weir and the Church Steps

Location E

Via Po opens out into Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one of the largest squares in Europe, with the river and the hills beyond it. This is the richest stretch of the whole tour — six scenes within a few hundred metres.

Scenes filmed here

  1. Minis speeding through the colonnades 45.066067, 7.694452
  2. The police car rolls back into a passing car 45.065917, 7.694641
  3. The weir crossing 45.064030, 7.696863
  4. The church steps — the wedding and Camp Freddie's film 45.062524, 7.698961
  5. The gang's hide-out 45.058248, 7.708081
  6. Along the river — "make a wish" 45.063214, 7.695846
Hand-drawn map of Italian Job locations around Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the weir on the River Po and the Gran Madre church in Turin
Location E. Down the colonnades, over the weir, across the bridge to the church, then up into the hills.

14. Through the colonnades

Go to the left side of the piazza and walk down through the colonnades. The Minis sped through here after Arthur grabbed the chicken, just before they went down into the pedestrian underpass — which no longer exists.

15. The police car rolls back

Where Via Vanchiglia meets the piazza is where the policeman got out of his car to stop the traffic — and the car then rolled back into the one behind.

16. The weir

Continue down the piazza and cross the road to the river. Go right, then left down the slope, to the famous weir.

It was here that the three Minis and the police Alfa Romeo crossed the river. They came from the opposite bank and drove onto a wooden platform laid across the two slabs of concrete that are still there.

A classic Mini Cooper parked by the River Po in Turin at the weir crossed in The Italian Job
The weir on the Po. The concrete slabs the wooden platform was laid across are still in place.

Go back up the slope and turn left across the bridge.

17. The church steps

Facing the bridge is the church of the Gran Madre di Dio — the Great Mother of God — and the location of the wedding scene.

Go up the steps and you will realise how steep they are. In the film they look bigger, but nothing like as treacherous.

It was also here that Camp Freddie delivered his opinion of the job, in the black and white film Mr Bridger watched in prison. The mafia's black FIAT Dino was parked where the floodlights for the monument now stand. As Freddie spoke, the mafia boss came up behind him, newspaper in hand, removing his sunglasses.

The Gran Madre di Dio church in Turin, where the wedding scene and the Mini descent down the steps were filmed for The Italian Job
The Gran Madre di Dio. The Mini came out through black curtains hung across the portico and down these steps.

18. The gang's hide-out

The next location is up the hill behind the church. It is a drive rather than a walk: head up and, at the junction at the top, carry straight on. The coordinates above are the dependable way to find it — there is nothing at the roadside to tell you that you have arrived.

19. Along the river

From here, go back down to the church and across the bridge on the left-hand side. This is where the Minis sped along the river, Arthur said "make a wish", and Camp Freddie urged his driver to make a better effort at keeping up with the others.

NEXT: The Palavela and Lingotto