If you have been to Milan and Turin, especially if you had the chance to visit people in their homes there, you may be familiar with case di ringhiera, those traditional four to six storey-high buidlings, with a court in the middle and balconies running all along their façades. Common and beloved, they are among the most characteristic homes in these two important northern Italian cities, both a symbol of the country’s industrial growth of the early decades of the 1900s.
Indeed, case di ringhiera, or “railing houses,” were once a defining feature of Northern Italy’s urban landscape, particularly in cities like Milan and Turin. Built to accommodate the rapidly growing industrial workforce during the early 20th century, these unique buildings provided affordable housing for the influx of workers migrating from the south of Italy. Today, many case di ringhiera have been modernized into stylish urban dwellings, but they still reflect a shared history of communal living and industrialization that shaped Italy in the early years after the end of World War Two.
The industrial Rrots of the case di ringhiera
At the start of the 1900s, Italy’s industrial boom triggered massive migration flows toward northern cities like Milan, Turin and Genoa, which became hubs of manufacturing and economic growth. The need for affordable housing was acute, as hundreds of thousands of unskilled workers arrived to fill factory jobs. Between 1901 and 1911 alone, Milan’s population grew by over 200,000, while Turin experienced a similar surge in residents.
In response, a new form of urban housing was developed—the case di ringhiera, buildings designed with simplicity in mind, and built to maximize space and minimize costs. Characterized by their long, narrow balconies (ballatoi) that provided access to individual apartments, case di ringhiera became the standard for working-class housing in both Milan and Turin.
A communal living experience
The layout of case di ringhiera supported a highly communal way of life: each apartment was small, often no larger than 45-50 square meters, and consisted of just two rooms, a bedroom facing the street and a kitchen and living area that opened onto the shared balcony. Privacy was limited, as all residents passed by one another’s doors to reach their homes. Bathrooms were communal and often located at the ends of the balconies, further promoting interaction among neighbors.
This communal atmosphere extended to the building’s central courtyard, typically a cobblestone or stone-paved area where residents gathered for daily activities. In the early days, women performed household chores, such as laundry, in shared wash basins, while children played in the relative safety of the courtyard, away from the busy streets. The case di ringhiera became micro-communities, where neighbors not only lived in close quarters but also relied on one another for support and social interaction.
Case di ringhiera in Turin: a parallel story
While Milan tends to be the city most associated with case di ringhiera, the same architectural style became a prominent feature in Turin during the city’s industrial expansion. The Piedmontese capital, home to some of Italy’s largest factories—most notably Fiat—experienced a parallel housing crisis as workers flooded the city in search of employment. Similar to Milan, case di ringhiera were constructed in Turin’s peripheral industrial neighborhoods to house the growing workforce.
The buildings in Turin shared the same characteristics: plain, functional exteriors and balconies serving as access routes to the apartments. As in Milan, Turin’s case di ringhiera formed tight-knit communities that were marked by mutual aid and shared space. Residents of both cities experienced similar living conditions, with overcrowded housing, communal amenities, and a collective spirit that made up for the lack of privacy.
The transition from worker housing to urban trend
As Italy transitioned into the post-war era, many of the cities where case di ringhiera were prevalent underwent significant urban transformation. Formerly industrial areas were redeveloped, and case di ringhiera buildings that had once been considered humble worker housing began to attract a different type of resident. In areas closer to the city center, like Milan’s Navigli district and Turin’s Borgo Dora, these buildings underwent extensive renovations. Their historical charm, coupled with interior redesigns and modern amenities, made them desirable homes for artists, professionals, and young urbanites, with the iconic balconies, which once symbolized a working-class lifestyle, becoming fashionable spaces often adorned with greenery and acting as the focal point of the apartments.
In less central areas, particularly in Milan and Turin’s outskirts, some case di ringhiera retained their original function as affordable housing: in these neighborhoods, many buildings have not undergone the same level of restoration, and still offer a glimpse into their original use as practical, unadorned homes for workers.
A shared social legacy across Northern Italy
Regardless of their location or current state, case di ringhiera buildings across Northern Italy share a legacy of community-focused living, where the close proximity of neighbors, shared balconies, and communal courtyards made privacy secondary to the benefits of social exchange. Neighbors looked out for each other, shared resources, and gathered for conversations in the courtyard or on the balcony, in a fashion not much different from the lifestyle many of them probably enjoyed before moving to the city, in more rural contexts.
Today, while the introduction of all modern amenities has certainly altered the experience of living in a casa di ringhiera, the sense of community remains a strong draw for many residents. In both Milan and Turin, people continue to be attracted to the sense of neighborhood and social connection that these buildings still managed to create.
Case di ringhiera today: from historical relics to trendy homes
Case di ringhiera continue to hold a special place in the urban real estate market. These buildings are highly sought after, particularly in areas that have undergone urban renewal: around 70,000 case di ringhiera still exist in Milan alone, with many more scattered throughout Turin and other northern cities. In central, trendy neighborhoods, such as Milan’s Brera and Turin’s San Salvario, case di ringhiera have been transformed into chic, modern homes, owned by or rented to whole world of different people, from students to young professionals, all the way to small families. A true architectural reflection of Northern Italy’s industrial past and of the communal spirit that defined the early 20th century, the case di ringhiera went from humble worker homes to trendy urban apartments, still managing to maintain the undisputable charm of places able to connect us directly to the past.
