Curiously, near the Piazza Castello in Turin there is not only the famous baroque chapel with the Spanish-style dome in which the "Turin Shroud" is kept - the "Capella della Sacra Sindone". In addition, on the Piazza Castello there is a second, almost identical (slightly smaller) round church with a Spanish-style dome, which also bears the name "Real Chiesa di San Lorenzo".
This church is not immediately recognizable as a church from street level because it is hidden by the facade of the Piazza Castello. This is the real curiosity of this highlight. As far as I know, there is hardly anything like it anywhere else in the world and it characterizes the impressive urban design of Turin like a magnifying glass.
The strange urban development situation is a late consequence of the double wedding of the daughters of Duke Carlo Emanuele I in 1608. At that time, the Duke built a portico with a spectator stand, which a few years later became dilapidated and a nuisance for the owners of the houses behind it. To resolve this problem, in 1612 the Duke gave the house owners the affected strip of land in front of their buildings, with the condition that they build a portico and two floors above it in accordance with the design of the court architect Ascanio Vitozzi. This was the first time that the uniform street facades that are so typical of Turin today were created.