The Savoy Senate Palace was built with a purposely grim appearance, meant to intimidate those who entered its halls. The building was a silent witness to all of the house of Savoy's long judicial history since as back as 1672, and was the seat of Turin's courthouse until 2001. Even now, in its courtyard one can find the hole through which, long ago, passed a metal-plated pipe leading to the hall where judges deliberated in private. When the trial concerned a particularly heinous crime, the people of Turin gathered in the courtyard and waited for smoke to erupt from the pipe, signaling the reaching of a verdict.