Lingotto
Encyclopedia
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was a huge automobile factory, constructed by Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
. Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design (by young architect Matté Trucco) was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars built on a line that went up through the building. Finished cars emerged at rooftop level, where there was a rooftop test track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
. It was the largest car factory in the world at that time. For its time, the Lingotto building was avante-garde, influential and impressive—Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
called it "one of the most impressive sights in industry", and "a guideline for town planning". 80 different models of car were produced there in its lifetime, including the famous Fiat Topolino
Fiat Topolino
The Fiat 500, commonly known as Topolino , is an Italian automobile model manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.-History:...
of 1936.
The factory became outmoded in the 1970s and the decision was made to finally close it in 1982. The closure of the plant led to much public debate about its future, and how to recover from industrial decline in general. An architectural competition was held, which was eventually awarded to Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
, who envisioned an exciting public space for the city. The old factory was rebuilt into a modern complex, with concert halls, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, a convention centre, shopping
Shopping
Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
arcades and a prestigious hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
. The eastern portion of the building instead, is the headquarter of the Automotive Engineering faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin
Polytechnic University of Turin
The Polytechnic University of Turin is an engineering university based in Turin, northern Italy. Established in 1859, Politecnico di Torino is Italy’s oldest Technical University. In 2011 it was ranked as the best engineering university in Italy in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.It is...
. The work was completed in 1989. The track was however retained and can still be visited today on the top floor of the shopping mall and hotel.
Only in Nessonvaux, Trooz
Trooz
Trooz is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Trooz had a total population of 7,641. The total area is 24.20 km² which gives a population density of 316 inhabitants per km²....
, Belgium did a similar rooftop test track exist. From 1928 to 1958, Imperia
Imperia (car)
Imperia Automobiles was a Belgian automotive factory. The brand name was revived in 2009 to market a hybrid sports car based on research from the company Green Propulsion.- Historical Impéria :...
had a track over 1 km long which was built partially on top of the factory.
Lingotto public transport
Torino Lingotto railway stationTorino Lingotto railway station
Torino Lingotto railway station is one of the main stations serving the city and comune of Turin, capital of the region of Piedmont, northwestern Italy...
is served by a number of regional train lines, as well as the Turin Metro
Turin Metro
The Metropolitana di Torino is a VAL metro system connecting Turin city centre, Italy, with the neighbouring city of Collegno. It is operated by Gruppo Torinese Trasporti , a public company controlled by the municipality of Turin...
(Lingotto M1). It is a central hub, located in close proximity to Torino's hospitals (such as CTO Hospital (Turin)
CTO Hospital (Turin)
The CTO Hospital is a major medical center in Turin, Italy. CTO stands for Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico or the Center for Orthopedic Trauma. It is one of the leading orthopedic hospitals in Italy, and services a majority of orthopedic trauma incidents occurring in the Italian Alps...
), parks (Park Valentino and the Lingotto shopping district.
The Lingotto M1 metro station was officially opened on March 6, 2011, connecting Lingotto with Porta Nuova M1 and other connections.
In popular culture
The Lingotto building is featured extensively in the Alberto LattuadaAlberto Lattuada
Alberto Lattuada was an Italian film director.Lattuada was born in Milan, the son of composer Felice Lattuada...
film Mafioso
Mafioso (1962 film)
Mafioso is a 1962 Italian Black comedy film directed by Alberto Lattuada. The film stars Alberto Sordi as a factory manager who visits his hometown in Sicily and is tasked with performing a hit for the mafia...
(1962).
The original Lingotto rooftop test track can be seen briefly during the getaway sequence in the film The Italian Job
The Italian Job
The Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. Subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as an institution in the United Kingdom....
(1969).
Lingotto is also the site of the Oval Lingotto
Oval Lingotto
Torino Oval Lingotto is an indoor arena in Turin, Italy. It was built for use at the 2006 Winter Olympics, during which it hosted speed skating events...
, the speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
venue for the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
.