Friedrich Nietzsche had lived for one year ( from 1888 to 1889) in a room on the third floor of the building at the end of this arcade, on the corner of Carlo Alberto square. During his stay in Torino he wrote his works "The Antichrist", "The twilight of the Idols" and "Ecce Homo".
On 3 January 1889, Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse.
Two policemen approached him after he caused a public disturbance in the streets of Torino.
What happened remains unknown, but an often-repeated tale from shortly after his death states that Nietzsche witnessed the flogging of a horse at the other end of the Piazza Carlo Alberto, ran to the horse, threw his arms up around its neck to protect it, and then collapsed to the ground.