Between the 1820s and 1860s Turin expanded in a south-westerly direction, creating what is known as Borgo Nuovo. The shape and slope of the ramparts in this area were used to create the Giardini dei Ripari. This veritable inner-city park featured hillocks and esplanades that extended into the territory now occupied by the Balbo flowerbed, the Cavour gardens and piazza Maria Teresa.
The gardens are set right in the middle of Piazza Cavour and are surrounded by nineteenth-century buildings, including Palazzo Biscaretti di Ruffia, the Convent of the Sacramentine Nuns and Tommaseo primary school. Its morphology, like that of the Royal Gardens, still clearly shows the former existence of seventeenth-century defensive structures. These were different in height, but the problem was solved between 1872 and 1875, creating multiform "English-style" flowerbeds in which plane trees, lime trees, oaks, horse chestnuts, maples, pines, firs and magnolias were planted.
The focal point of the garden is a splendid, monumental specimen of sycamore, which is over a hundred years old, stands 35 metres tall and has a canopy that extends across 28 metres.
Inside the gardens: the bronze statue dedicated to the politician and diplomat Carlo Felice Nicolis, Count of Robilant, active at the time of the Risorgimento, created by Giacomo Ginotti in 1896 and unveiled in 1900. A small bust dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi was placed on the hillock in 1956. At the side of via San Massimo, a contemporary commemorates the Piedmontese poet, Pinin Pacot (Giuseppe Pacotto)
Some historical buildings overlook the square. One of the most beautiful is the small church of Saint Michael Archangel, built between 1784 and 1788 to a design by Pietro Bonvicini. At number 8, where the square meets Via Rolando, there is a lovely building designed by the architect Giuseppe Formento and built in 1838, for the sculptor Bogliani, who had his studio there.
