From 1906 to today, on the same ground.

The SPA factory and Parco Braccini in six dates. Verified facts only, each with its source.

1906
The SPA is born
Ansaldi and Ceirano build the factory in Borgo San Paolo.
m² of factory
12,000
workers in 1907
300
1942–44
Under the bombs
The factory works for the war. From November 1942 to July 1944 the bombing strikes it again and again.
workers in 1942
5,000
the output of 1939
×4
1949
The last truck
The last SPA truck, the SPA 10000, leaves through Corso Ferrucci.
axles
3
2024
Now the game is on
The garden is rebuilt with PON Metro funds: two basketball courts with a new surface and a new volleyball court. It opens in April.
half-courts
4
the format
4 on 4
The park and the street are named after Paolo Braccini, known as “Verdi” (1907–1944): a lecturer at the University of Turin and a partisan, executed at the Martinetto on 5 April 1944, awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.

Six dates, from 1906 to 2024

The six dates, with sources.

1906
SPA arrives
Michele Ansaldi and Matteo Ceirano found the Società Piemontese Automobili and build the factory in Borgo San Paolo, along what was then via Circonvallazione: about 12,000 square metres.
In 1907, 300 workers are employed there. About 300 cars come out every year.
Source: MuseoTorino
1926
Fiat arrives
Fiat buys SPA. Alongside cars, the factory builds lorries and military vehicles.
By 1941 production is almost entirely heavy: lorries, armoured vehicles, tractors.
Source: MuseoTorino, Istoreto
1942–43
The factory at war
Under Fiat, SPA becomes the largest supplier of vehicles to the armed forces. In 1942, 5,000 workers are employed there and output is four times that of 1939.
In November 1942 the RAF bombs fall. In March 1943 the workers go on strike. On 12 and 17 August 1943 further raids hit the vehicle depot, the assembly shop and the warehouse.
Source: MuseoTorino, Istoreto
1944
24 July 1944
After the June raid comes the one of 24 July, remembered as “the most terrible and disastrous”. The damage is estimated at over 233 million lire.
High-explosive and incendiary bombs destroy a large part of the building and badly damage the roof.
Source: Istoreto, MuseoTorino
1949
The last lorry
The last SPA-built lorry leaves through the gates on corso Ferrucci: the three-axle SPA 10000. Production ends here.
Part of the building still stands and houses the city's Sport and Leisure department.
Source: MuseoTorino
2024
Now they play
The garden between via Osasco and via Paolo Braccini is rebuilt with EU PON Metro React-EU funds: new surfaces for the two basketball courts and a new volleyball court. It opens in April 2024.
Locally it's still called “giardini Spa”.
Source: Comune di Torino, Torino Oggi, MuseoTorino

Open archive.

The plans of the documented courts can be downloaded and reused freely. Corrections found on the court go to OpenStreetMap, where the data comes from.

Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL licence (openstreetmap.org/copyright). If you reuse it, credit the source and share your changes under the same licence.

The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.

001.01 Stesso suolo (Same ground): the real plan of Parco Braccini, with Courts A, B, C and D. With an account you know when it's out and you can reserve it.

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The SPA is born

Under the bombs

The last truck

Now the game is on

The six dates, with sources.The six dates, with sources.

SPA arrives

Fiat arrives

The factory at war

24 July 1944

The last lorry

Now they play

Open archive.Open archive.

The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.

The SPA is born

Under the bombs

The last truck

Now the game is on

The six dates, with sources.The six dates, with sources.

SPA arrives

Fiat arrives

The factory at war

24 July 1944

The last lorry

Now they play

Open archive.Open archive.

The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.

The six dates, with sources.

Open archive.

The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.

The six dates, with sources.

Open archive.

The court as it is today. On a T-shirt.