Turin
Encyclopedia
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 (November 2008) while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area
is estimated by the OECD
to have a population of 2.2 million.
The city has a rich culture and history, and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera house
s, piazza
s, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums and other venues. Turin is well known for its baroque
, rococo
, neo-classical
, and Art Nouveau
architecture. Much of the city's public square
s, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi
such as Palazzo Madama
, were built by Sicilian architect Filippo Juvarra
, who modelled these buildings on the Baroque and classical style of Versailles
. Examples of these French-themed edifices include the Royal Palace of Turin
, the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi and the Basilica di Superga
.
Turin is sometimes called the "cradle of Italian liberty
", due to its having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento
, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italy's best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the six-century-old University of Turin
and the Turin Polytechnic. Prestigious and important museums, such as the Museo Egizio
and the Mole Antonelliana
are also found in the city. Turin's several monuments and sights make it one of the world's top 250 tourist destinations, and the tenth most visited city in Italy in 2008.
The city used to be a major European political centre, being Italy's first capital city in 1861 and being home to the House of Savoy
, Italy's royal family. Even though much of its political significance and importance had been lost by World War II
, it became a major European crossroad for industry, commerce and trade, and currently is one of Italy's main industrial centres, being part of the famous "industrial triangle", along with Milan
and Genoa
. Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Rome and Milan, for economic strength. With a GDP
of $58 billion, Turin is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power, and as of 2010 has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma- world city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry
.
Turin is well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin
, the football teams Juventus F.C.
and Torino F.C.
, the headquarters of automobile manufacturers FIAT
, Lancia
and Alfa Romeo
, and as host of the 2006 Winter Olympics
. Several International Space Station
modules, such as Harmony and Columbus
, were also manufactured in Turin.
It was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy
from 1563, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia
ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy
.
It is often referred to as "the Capital of the Alps". Turin is also known as "the Automobile Capital of Italy" or the Detroit of Italy; in Italy it is also called "[La] capitale Sabauda".
(Augusta Taurinorum). The typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, but especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the exact path of the Decumanus of the Roman City which began at the Porta Decumani which was later incorporated into the Castello or Palazzo Madama. The Porta Palatina, on the north side of the district is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral. Turin reached about 5,000 inhabitants at the time, all living inside the high walls.
, the town was conquered by the Lombards
, then the Franks
of Charlemagne
(773). The Contea di Torino
(countship) was founded in the 940s, which was held by the Arduinic
dynasty until 1050. After the marriage of Adelaide of Susa
with Humbert Biancamano's son Otto, the family of the Counts of Savoy
gained control. While the dignity of count was held by the Bishop as count of Turin (1092–1130 and 1136–1191) it was ruled as a prince-bishopric
by the Bishops. In 1230–1235 it was a lordship under the Marquess of Montferrat, styled Lord of Turin. At the end of the 13th century, when it was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy
, the city already had 20,000 inhabitants. Many of the gardens and palaces were built in the fifteenth century when the city was redesigned. The University of Turin
was also founded during this period.
, known with the nickname "Iron Head", made Turin the capital of the Duchy of Savoy
in 1563. Piazza Reale, today named Piazza San Carlo and Via Nuova, today called Via Roma were added with the first enlargement of the walls, in the first half of the 17th century; in the same period the Royal palace (Palazzo Reale) was also built. In the second half of that century, a second enlargement of the walls was planned and executed, with the building of the arcaded Via Po, connecting diagonally Piazza Castello with the bridge on the Po through the regular street grid.
In 1706, during the Battle of Turin
, the French besieged the city for 117 days without conquering it. After the subsequent Treaty of Utrecht
, the Kingdom of Sardinia
was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy and the architect Filippo Juvarra
began a major redesign of the city. Now the capital of a European kingdom, Turin had about 90,000 inhabitants at the time.
Turin, like the rest of Piedmont
, was annexed by France in September 1802. Turin was the prefecture of the French department of Pô from 1802 to the fall of Napoleon
in 1814, when the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored with Turin as its capital. After 1814, Piedmont-Sardinia began to actively pursue the unification of Italy
. In 1871, the Fréjus Tunnel
was opened, making Turin an important communication node between Italy and France. The city in that period had 250,000 inhabitants. Some of the most iconic landmarks of the city, like the Mole Antonelliana
, the Egyptian Museum
, the Gran Madre di Dio Church and Piazza Vittorio Veneto were built in this period.
In 1861, Turin became the capital of the newly proclaimed united Italy. In 1865 the capital was moved to Florence
. Since 8 July 1871, the capital has been Rome. Turin reacted to the loss of importance by beginning a rapid industrialisation: in 1899 FIAT was founded and Lancia
was founded in 1906. The Universal Exposition
held in Turin in 1902 is often considered the pinnacle of Art Nouveau
design, and the city hosted the same event in 1911
. By this time, Turin had grown to 430,000 inhabitants.
factory was occupied. Turin became a major industrial centre during the first part of the 20th century thanks mainly to the automotive industry, insomuch that the city gained the nickname of Automobile Capital.
Turin was a target of Allied
strategic bombing
during World War II and was heavily damaged by the air raids. The city was a target because of its industrial production, including FIAT
, which produced aircraft, tanks and automobiles for the Axis
war effort
. The Allied
campaign in Italy
had the Allies land in southern Italy
and saw the Nazi and pro-Nazi forces retreat northwards from September 1943 - April 1945. Turin was not captured by the Allies until the end of Spring Offensive of 1945
, and even when the advance guard of the armored reconnaissance units of Brazilian Expeditionary Force
reached the city, it was already free of any German presence; the Germans retreated after the successful allied offensive and the general insurrection of Italian Partisans
that had began on 25 April 1945. Days later, troops from the U.S. Army's 1st Armored
and 92nd Infantry Divisions came to substitute the Brazilian ones.
After World War II, Turin was rapidly rebuilt and its industrial base saw a huge development throughout the 1950s and 1960s, which attracted hundred of thousands of immigrants, particularly from the southern regions of Italy. The population reached 1 million in 1960 and peaked at almost 1.2 million in 1971. In the 1970s and 1980s, the automotive industry crisis severely hit the city and its population began to sharply decline, losing more than one-fourth of its total in 30 years.
.
It is surrounded on the western and northern front by the Alps and on the eastern front by a high hill that is the natural prosecution of the hills of Monferrato
.
Four major rivers pass through the city: the Po and two of its tributaries, the Dora Riparia
(later changed to "Duria Minor" by the Romans, from the Celtic
duria meaning "water"), the Stura di Lanzo
, and the Sangone
.
Turin is located in a humid subtropical climate
zone (Köppen climate classification
Cfa), although close proximity to mountainous terrain results in conditions that can be variable with some continental
characteristics. This is in contrast to the Mediterranean climate
characteristic of the coast of Italy.
Winters are cold but dry, summers are mild in the hills and quite hot in the plains. Rain falls mostly during spring and autumn; during the hottest months, otherwise, rains are less usual but more strong (thunderstorms are usual). During the winter and autumn months banks of fog, which are sometimes very thick, form in the plains but rarely on the city because of its location at the end of the Susa Valley
.
Its position on the east side of the Alps
makes the weather drier than on the west side due to the föhn wind
effect.
Turin is divided into 10 boroughs; these do not necessarily correspond to historical districts in the city. The following list numerates the present day boroughs named Circoscrizioni and today's location of the historical districts inside them:
The mayor of Turin is directly elected every five years. Piero Fassino
, the current mayor, belongs to the centre-left coalition:
Turin's City Council is composed by 50 members.
, which is named after the architect who built it: Alessandro Antonelli
. Construction began in 1863 as a Jewish synagogue
. Nowadays it houses the National Museum of Cinema
, and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world (167 metres or 548 feet).
The Palatine Towers
are an ancient Roman-medieval structure that served as one of four Roman city gate
s, which allowed access from north to the cardus
maximus, the typical second main street of a Roman town. The Palatine Towers are among the best preserved Roman remains in northern Italy.
The Turin Cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist
(Italian: San Giovanni Battista), is the major church of the city. It was built during 1491–1498 and it is adjacent to an earlier campanile
(1470). The Chapel
of the Holy Shroud, the current resting place of the Shroud of Turin
, was added to the structure in 1668–1694. Attached to the cathedral is the chapel of the Santissimo Sudario, built by Guarini (1694), where is preserved in a casket a cloth believed to be the shroud in which the Body of Christ was wrapped when it was taken down from the Cross, The Church of Corpus Domini records a miracle which took place during the sack of the city in 1453, when a soldier was carrying off an ostensorium containing the Blessed Sacrament: the ostensorium fell to the ground, while the Host remained suspended in air. The present splendid church, erected in 1610 to replace the original chapel which stood on the spot, is the work of Ascanio Vittozzi.
The Consolata, a sanctuary much frequented by pilgrims, stands on the site of the tenth-century monastery of S. Andrea, and is the work of Guarini. It was sumptuously restored in 1903. Outside the city are: S. Maria Ausiliatrice, erected by Don Bosco, the Gran Madre di Dio, erected in 1818 on occasion of the return of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
and S. Maria del Monte (1583) on the Monte dei Cappucini.
In the hills overlooking the city the basilica church of Superga
provides a view of Turin against a backdrop of the snow-capped Alps. The basilica holds the tombs of many of the dukes of Savoy, as well as many of the kings of Sardinia. Superga can be reached by means of the Superga Rack Railway
from the suburb of Sassi. The Basilica of Superga, with a dome 244 feet high, a work of Juvarra, built by Amedeo II ex voto for the deliverance of Turin (1706), served since 1772 as a royal mausoleum.
centenary), an important international exhibition (FLOR61: Flowers of the world in Turin) took place in the park with 800 exhibitors from 19 countries. For the occasion the plan for the new lighting of the park, with its fountains and paths, was assigned to Guido Chiarelli, the head engineer at the city hall.
Other large parks are the Parco delle Pellerina, the Parco della Colletta, the Rignon park, the recent Colonnetti park and the University botanical gardens
. Around the city, there are several other parks, such as the Parco della Mandria and the Parco della Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, ancient hunting grounds of the Savoy, and those situated on the hill of Turin. Many parks are smaller and are located in the various districts: there is also a total of 240 playgrounds in these parks. In the early 1960s, mayor Amedeo Peyron realised the first garden in Italy with games for children. According to a report of Legambiente 2007, Turin is the first Italian city to impose structures and policies on childcare. One of the most famous parks with a children's playground is the Parco della Tesoriera which is also home to the Andrea delle Corte Municipal Music Library housed in a villa built in 1715 and which was once the Royal Treasurer's residence. The park is located in the Parella suburb of Turin and in summer plays host to various concerts
Rosa Vercellana (1833–1885), commonly known as ‘Rosina’ and, in Piedmontese as 'La Bela Rosin' (the beautiful Rosin), was the mistress
and later wife of Victor Emmanuel II
, King of Italy. She was made Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda
, but never Queen of Italy. As the Savoy family refused to allow her to be buried next to her husband in the Pantheon
, her children had a mausoleum built for her in a similar form and on a smaller scale in Turin, next to the road to the Castello di Mirafiori. The circular copper-domed neoclassical
monument, surmounted by a Latin cross and surrounded by a large park, was designed by Angelo Dimezzi and completed in 1888.
(51,017), Morocco
(22,511), Albania
(9,165), Peru
(7,044), China (5,483), and Moldova
(3,417). Like many Northern Italian cities, there is a large proportion of pensioners in comparison to youth. Around 18 percent of the population is under 20 years of age while, 22 percent is over 65. The population of the Turin urban area totals 1.7 million inhabitants, ranking fourth in Italy, while the Turin metropolitan area
has a population of 2.2 million inhabitants. The median age is 43.7.
Turin is a major industrial centre, where the headquarters of the car company FIAT
is located. The city has a GDP
of $58 billion and is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power. The city has been ranked in 2010 by GaWC as a Gamma-world city
, alongside cities such as Belfast
, Marseilles, Ottawa
, Ljubljana
and Tallinn
.
Turin is home to the Lingotto
building, which was at one time the largest car factory in the world, and now houses a convention centre, a concert hall, a multiplex, an art gallery, a shopping centre
and a Le Méridien
hotel. Other companies founded in Turin are Lancia
, Pininfarina
, Bertone, Sparco
, Italdesign
, Ghia
, Fioravanti, Stola
, Intesa Sanpaolo
, Borbonese, Superga
, Kristina Ti, Fisico, Kappa
, Invicta
, Laura Tonatto, Nicolao Profumiere, Xerjoff, Repossi, Mattioli, TataBorello, Lavazza
, Martini & Rossi
and the chocolate factories Caffarel
, Streglio, Domori, Guido Gobino, Venchi
, Peyrano Pfatisch.
The city is also well known for its aerospace
industry (Alenia
). The International Space Station
modules Harmony, Columbus
, Tranquility, as well as the Cupola and all MPLMs
were produced in Turin. The future European launcher projects beyond Ariane 5
will also be managed from Turin by the new NGL
company, a subsidiary of EADS
(70%) and Finmeccanica
(30%).
Turin is also the birthplace of some of the country's main companies, such as Telecom Italia
(telecommunications) and Rai
(television). Most of these industries have since moved their headquarters to other parts of Italy, but Turin still retains the National Museum of Cinema inside the Mole Antonelliana
.
, is home of the Savoy Residences
. In addition to the 17th-century Royal Palace
, built for Madama Reale Christine Marie of France
(the official residence of the Savoys until 1865) there are many palaces, residences and castles in the city centre and in the surrounding towns. Turin is home to Palazzo Chiablese, the Royal Armoury, the Royal Library, Palazzo Madama
, Palazzo Carignano
, Villa della Regina
, and the Valentino Castle
. The complex of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
in Turin and in the nearby cities of Rivoli, Moncalieri
, Venaria Reale
, Agliè
, Racconigi
, Stupinigi
, Pollenzo
and Govone
was declared a World Heritage Site
s by UNESCO
in 1997. In recent years, Turin has become an increasingly popular tourist destination, ranking 203rd in the world and 10th in Italy in 2008, with about 240,000 international arrivals.
The Egyptian Museum of Turin
specialises in archaeology
and anthropology
, in particular the Art of Ancient Egypt
. It is home to what is regarded as one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt. In 2006 it received more than 500,000 visitors. The Museum of Oriental Art
houses one of the most important Asian art
collections in Italy.
Other notable museums include the Puppet Museum, the Torino Automotive Museum and the Museo Nazionale della Montagna (National Museum of the Mountains).
The city is home to the Shroud of Turin
: a linen
cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma
in a manner consistent with crucifixion
. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the city centre. The origins of the shroud and its image are still the subject of intense debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers. It is popularly believed to be a depiction of Jesus Christ, however this matter is still controversial, as there seems to be a sufficient amount of historical and scientific evidence supporting the idea that it is, or is not, the Holy Face of Jesus
. Nonetheless, it is a symbol of religious devotion and is one of the city's main symbols and tourist attractions.
Remaining a village for a long time, in 1559 the Duke Emmanuel Philibert
of Savoy made Turin the capital of his domains. In the Baroque period, Turin became important to a court and the Duke had the ambition to transform the city into a major artistic and cultural capital. That is why working in a city of artists of great repute, especially architects and planners like Carlo di Castellamonte
and his son Amedeo, which include the route of a Roman castrum the new capital and build beautiful buildings, Guarino Guarini and, in the eighteenth century, Filippo Juvarra
and Vittorio Alfieri
.
As for the painting and the visual arts, Turin became a point of reference, especially in the 20th century. In the 1920s, the painter Felice Casorati inspired a number of students called The group of six of Turin and these included Carlo Levi
, Henry Paolucci, Gigi Chessa, Francis Menzio, Nicola Galante and Jessie Boswell.
Two important artists were born in Turin: the sculptor Umberto Mastroianni
and the architect Carlo Mollino
. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, the international centre of Turin (Arte Povera
), the presence in the city of artists like Alighiero Boetti
, Mario Merz
, Giuseppe Penone
, Piero Gilardi and Michelangelo Pistoletto
. In those years there was a strong artistic influence of the famous designer, Armando Testa, the founder of advertising agency. Currently operating in the city are established artists like Ugo Nespolo
and Carol Rama
.
. Marino suffered an assassination attempt by a rival, Gaspar Murtola, and was later imprisoned for a year because of gossip that he had said and written against the duke. Perhaps, because of this, in 1615 Marino left Turin and moved to France.
The main literary figures during the Baroque age in Turin were Emanuele Tesauro
and Alessandro Tassoni
. In the next century Turino hosted the poet Vittorio Alfieri
from Asti for a while. The situation was very different in the 19th century, especially since the city became a point of reference for Italian unification and, subsequently, the capital of the Kingdom of Italy
. Indeed, in those years Tommaseo, Settembrini and John Meadows resided in the city. A major literary and cultural woman of that time was Olympia Savio. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Turin was home to writers such as Guido Gozzano
, Edmondo De Amicis
, Emilio Salgari
and Dino Segre, the latter known by the pseudonym of Pitigrilli
.
Turin had a very important role in Italian literature after World War II: to act as a catalyst was the publishing house founded by Giulio Einaudi
, for which worked figures such as Cesare Pavese
, Italo Calvino
, Vitaliano Brancati
, Primo Levi
, Natalia Ginzburg
, Fernanda Pivano
, Beppe Fenoglio
, Carlo Fruttero
and Franco Lucentini
. In more recent years, writers active in the city are Giovanni Arpino
, Nico Orengo, Giuseppe Culicchia, Margaret Oggero, Laura Mancinelli, Alessandra Montrucchio, Alessandro Perissinotto
, Guido Quartz, Piero Soria and Alessandro Baricco
. Baricco was also among the founders of the School Holden, dedicated to teaching the techniques of writing.
, Madrid
, New Delhi, Antwerp and Montreal
, Turin was chosen by UNESCO
as World Book Capital
for the year 2006. The International Book Fair
is one of the most important fairs of its kind in Europe.
Turin is home to one of Italy's principal national newspapers, La Stampa
, and the sports daily newspaper Tuttosport
.
The city is also served by other publications such as the Turin editions of La Repubblica
, il Giornale
, Leggo
, City
, Metro
and E Polis
.
RAI
has had a production centre in Turin since 1954.
(founded in 1897) and Torino F.C.
(founded in 1906). Juventus has the larger fan base, especially in southern Italy, while Torino enjoys a more localised support. The two clubs contest the oldest derby
in Italy: the Derby della Mole
or the Turin derby.
Juventus is Italy's
most successful football club and one of the most laureated and important in the world. It ranks joint seventh in the list of the world's clubs with the most official international titles (fourth between European clubs). The club was Italy's most successful of the 20th century
and the the first in association football history—and remains the only one in the world to date (2011)—to have won all possible confederation competitions and the club world title. The Stadio delle Alpi
was one of the host stadiums for the 1990 FIFA World Cup
and it was demolished in 2006 to make way for Juventus' owned ground, the Juventus Stadium, inaugurated in 2011. The other city's club, Torino, currently uses the Stadio Olimpico, property of the Comune of Turin, one of the host stadiums for the 1934 FIFA World Cup
and the venue of the XX Winter Olympics
.
In 1949, in the Superga air disaster
, a plane carrying almost the whole Torino F.C. team (at that time the most important team in Italy and known as the Grande Torino) crashed into the Basilica of Superga
in the Turin hills. Valentino Mazzola
, father of Ferruccio and Sandro (who were later to become football champions), was among those who perished in the accident.
The C.U.S. Torino volleyball team won the domestic league four times and, in the 1979–80 season, the Volleyball European Champion's Cup. It was the first team from western Europe to win this competition. In the 1990s the team was dismantled as a result of financial issues.
Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics
from 10 February 2006, through 26 February 2006. Turin, with a metropolitan area of 1.7 million, was the largest city to have ever hosted a Winter Olympics. The title fell to Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada, (2.5 million) when that city hosted the XXI Olympic Winter Games
.
The FISA
(International Rowing Federation) was founded in Turin in 1892.
Turin is also the home of the Valentino Park motor racing circuit.
and the Lumière brothers
. The first Italian cinema screening occurred in Turin in March 1896. In November 1896, Italian filmmakers performed the first cinema screening of a film before a fee-paying audience.
By the start of the 20th century (especially after 1907), a number of the first Italian films were aired in Turin. Examples include Giovanni Pastrone
Cabiria
, in 1914, one of the first blockbuster
s in history.
During the 1920s and 30s, Turin hosted a number of film productions and major film studios (film houses), such as the Itala film, Aquila and Fert Studios. Turin's prominence in Italian film continued until 1937, the year Cinecittà
was inaugurated in Rome.
After World War II, the cinematic scene in Turin continued to thrive. 1956 saw the opening of the National Museum of Cinema
, first housed in the Palazzo Chiablese
and then, from 2000, in the imposing headquarters of the Mole Antonelliana
. In 1982 the film critic Gianni Rondolino created Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani, which later became the Torino Film Festival
.
Today Turin is one of the main cinematographic and television centres in Italy, thanks to the role of the Turin Film Commission that reports the production of many feature films, soap operas and commercials.
called Gianduiotto
, named after Gianduja
, a local Commedia dell'arte
mask. Every year the town organises CioccolaTÒ, a two-week chocolate festival run with the main Piedmontese chocolate producers, such as Caffarel
, Streglio, Venchi
and others, as well as some big international companies, such as Lindt & Sprüngli
. Since the mid 1980s, Piedmont has also benefited from the start of the Slow Food
movement and Terra Madre
, events that have highlighted the rich agricultural and vinicultural value of the Po valley
and northern Italy
.
Turin is home to one of Italy's oldest universities, the University of Turin
, which still ranks among the best universities in Italy. Another established university in the city is the Polytechnic University of Turin
, that ranks among Top 50 universities in the world and #1 in Italy ("Academic Ranking of World Universities" published by the Institute of Higher Education
of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
, in engineering, technology and computer science
fields). The business school ESCP Europe, ranked among the 10 best business school
s in Europe, also has a campus in Turin. In recent years some small English language education institutions have been opened (St. John International University
, International University College of Turin, Buddies Elementary School).
, parts of it had long been planned. Some of the work sites deal with general roadworks to improve traffic flow, such as underpasses and flyovers, but two projects are of major importance and will change the shape of the town radically.
One is the Spina ("spine") which includes the doubling of a major railroad crossing the city. The railroad previously ran in a trench, which will now be covered by a major boulevard. Porta Susa
, on this section, will become Turin's main station to substitute the terminus of Porta Nuova
with a through station.
The other major project is the construction of a subway line based on the VAL system, known as Metrotorino
. This project is expected to continue for years and to cover a larger part of the city, but its first phase was finished in time for the 2006 Olympic Games
, inaugurated on 4 February 2006 and opened to the public the day after. The first leg of the subway system linked the nearby town of Collegno
with Porta Susa in Turin's town centre. On 4 October 2007 the line was extended to Porta Nuova and then, in March 2011, to Lingotto. The main street in the town centre (Via Roma) runs atop a tunnel built during the fascist era (when Via Roma was built). The tunnel was supposed to host the underground line but it's now used as an underground car park. A project to build an underground system was ready in the 1970s, with government funding for it and for similar projects in Milan
and Rome. Whilst the other two cities went ahead with the projects, Turin's local government led by mayor Diego Novelli shelved the proposal as it believed it to be too costly and unnecessary.
The city has an international airport known as Caselle International Airport
Sandro Pertini (TRN), located in Caselle Torinese
, about 13 km (8 mi) from the centre of Turin and connected to the city by a railway service (from Dora Station) and a bus service (from Porta Nuova and Porta Susa railway stations).
Collaboration accords with:
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
, capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. The population of the city proper is 909,193 (November 2008) while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
is estimated by the OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
to have a population of 2.2 million.
The city has a rich culture and history, and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s, piazza
Piazza
A piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...
s, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums and other venues. Turin is well known for its baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
, neo-classical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
, and Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architecture. Much of the city's public square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
s, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
such as Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama, Turin
Palazzo Madama e Casaforte degli Acaja is a palace in Turin, northern Italy.-History:At the beginning of the first century BC, the site of the palace was occupied by a gate in the Roman walls from which the decumanus maximus of Augusta Taurinorum departed. Two of the towers, although restored,...
, were built by Sicilian architect Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra was an Italian architect and stage set designer.-Biography:Filippo Juvarra was an Italian Baroque architect working in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, to a family of goldsmiths and engravers...
, who modelled these buildings on the Baroque and classical style of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. Examples of these French-themed edifices include the Royal Palace of Turin
Royal Palace of Turin
Royal Palace of Turin or Palazzo Reale, is a palace in Turin, northern Italy. It was the royal palace of the House of Savoy. It was modernised greatly by the French born Madama Reale Christine Marie of France in the seventeenth century. The palace was worked on by Filippo Juvarra...
, the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi and the Basilica di Superga
Basilica of Superga
The Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin.It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga, to fulfill a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin...
.
Turin is sometimes called the "cradle of Italian liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
", due to its having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italy's best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the six-century-old University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
and the Turin Polytechnic. Prestigious and important museums, such as the Museo Egizio
Museo Egizio
The Museo Egizio is a museum in Turin, Italy, specialising in Egyptian archaeology and anthropology. It houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo...
and the Mole Antonelliana
Mole Antonelliana
The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later,...
are also found in the city. Turin's several monuments and sights make it one of the world's top 250 tourist destinations, and the tenth most visited city in Italy in 2008.
The city used to be a major European political centre, being Italy's first capital city in 1861 and being home to the House of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
, Italy's royal family. Even though much of its political significance and importance had been lost by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it became a major European crossroad for industry, commerce and trade, and currently is one of Italy's main industrial centres, being part of the famous "industrial triangle", along with Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Rome and Milan, for economic strength. With a GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
of $58 billion, Turin is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power, and as of 2010 has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma- world city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
.
Turin is well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...
, the football teams Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
and Torino F.C.
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
, the headquarters of automobile manufacturers 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...
, Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
and Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
, and as host of 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...
. Several International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
modules, such as Harmony and Columbus
Columbus (ISS module)
Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency ....
, were also manufactured in Turin.
It was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
from 1563, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
.
It is often referred to as "the Capital of the Alps". Turin is also known as "the Automobile Capital of Italy" or the Detroit of Italy; in Italy it is also called "[La] capitale Sabauda".
Roman times
In the first century BC, probably 28 BC, the Romans created a military camp (Castra Taurinorum), later dedicated to AugustusAugustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
(Augusta Taurinorum). The typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, but especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the exact path of the Decumanus of the Roman City which began at the Porta Decumani which was later incorporated into the Castello or Palazzo Madama. The Porta Palatina, on the north side of the district is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral. Turin reached about 5,000 inhabitants at the time, all living inside the high walls.
Middle Ages
After the fall of the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the town was conquered by the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, then the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
(773). The Contea di Torino
March of Turin
The county or march of Turin was founded in 941 by Hugh of Italy, who appointed Arduin Glaber as its governor. Arduin had captured Turin and the Susa Valley from the Saracens...
(countship) was founded in the 940s, which was held by the Arduinic
Arduin of Italy
Arduin of Ivrea was Margrave of Ivrea and King of Italy. He was the son of Dado, Count of Pombia. Arduin succeeded to the northern Italian Margraviate of Ivrea in 990 on dubious grounds. He was excommunicated for the murder of the Bishop of Vercelli in 997.He was made King of Italy after the death...
dynasty until 1050. After the marriage of Adelaide of Susa
Adelaide of Susa
Adelaide of Susa was the Marchioness of Turin from 1034 to her death. She moved the seat of the march from Turin to Susa and settled the itinerant court there...
with Humbert Biancamano's son Otto, the family of the Counts of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
gained control. While the dignity of count was held by the Bishop as count of Turin (1092–1130 and 1136–1191) it was ruled as a prince-bishopric
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
by the Bishops. In 1230–1235 it was a lordship under the Marquess of Montferrat, styled Lord of Turin. At the end of the 13th century, when it was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
, the city already had 20,000 inhabitants. Many of the gardens and palaces were built in the fifteenth century when the city was redesigned. The University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
was also founded during this period.
16th–18th century
Emmanuel PhilibertEmmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580....
, known with the nickname "Iron Head", made Turin the capital of the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
in 1563. Piazza Reale, today named Piazza San Carlo and Via Nuova, today called Via Roma were added with the first enlargement of the walls, in the first half of the 17th century; in the same period the Royal palace (Palazzo Reale) was also built. In the second half of that century, a second enlargement of the walls was planned and executed, with the building of the arcaded Via Po, connecting diagonally Piazza Castello with the bridge on the Po through the regular street grid.
In 1706, during the Battle of Turin
Battle of Turin
The Siege of Turin was undertaken by the Duke of Orléans and Marshal de la Feuillade between May and September 1706 against the Savoyard city of Turin during the War of the Spanish Succession...
, the French besieged the city for 117 days without conquering it. After the subsequent Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
, the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy and the architect Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra was an Italian architect and stage set designer.-Biography:Filippo Juvarra was an Italian Baroque architect working in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, to a family of goldsmiths and engravers...
began a major redesign of the city. Now the capital of a European kingdom, Turin had about 90,000 inhabitants at the time.
19th century
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, was annexed by France in September 1802. Turin was the prefecture of the French department of Pô from 1802 to the fall of Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1814, when the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored with Turin as its capital. After 1814, Piedmont-Sardinia began to actively pursue the unification of Italy
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
. In 1871, the Fréjus Tunnel
Fréjus Rail Tunnel
The Fréjus Rail Tunnel is a rail tunnel of length in the European Alps, carrying the Turin–Modane railway through Mount Cenis to an end on connection with the Culoz–Modane railway and linking Modane, France and Bardonecchia, Italy...
was opened, making Turin an important communication node between Italy and France. The city in that period had 250,000 inhabitants. Some of the most iconic landmarks of the city, like the Mole Antonelliana
Mole Antonelliana
The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later,...
, the Egyptian Museum
Museo Egizio
The Museo Egizio is a museum in Turin, Italy, specialising in Egyptian archaeology and anthropology. It houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo...
, the Gran Madre di Dio Church and Piazza Vittorio Veneto were built in this period.
In 1861, Turin became the capital of the newly proclaimed united Italy. In 1865 the capital was moved to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. Since 8 July 1871, the capital has been Rome. Turin reacted to the loss of importance by beginning a rapid industrialisation: in 1899 FIAT was founded and Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
was founded in 1906. The Universal Exposition
Prima Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna
The Prima Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna , held in Turin, Italy, in 1902 , was a world arts exhibition that was important in spreading the popularity of Art Nouveau design, especially to Italy. Its aim was explicitly modern: "Only original products that show a decisive...
held in Turin in 1902 is often considered the pinnacle of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
design, and the city hosted the same event in 1911
Turin International
The Turin International was a world's fair held in Turin in 1911 titled Esposizione internazionale dell'industria e del lavoro. It received 4 012 776 visits and covered 247 acres.-Summary:...
. By this time, Turin had grown to 430,000 inhabitants.
20th century
After World War I, conflicts between workers and industrialists began. The first strikes took place and in 1920 the LingottoLingotto
Lingotto is a district of Turin, Italy, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was a huge automobile factory, constructed by Fiat. Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars...
factory was occupied. Turin became a major industrial centre during the first part of the 20th century thanks mainly to the automotive industry, insomuch that the city gained the nickname of Automobile Capital.
Turin was a target of Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
during World War II and was heavily damaged by the air raids. The city was a target because of its industrial production, including 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...
, which produced aircraft, tanks and automobiles for the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
war effort
War effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
. The Allied
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
campaign in Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
had the Allies land in southern Italy
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
and saw the Nazi and pro-Nazi forces retreat northwards from September 1943 - April 1945. Turin was not captured by the Allies until the end of Spring Offensive of 1945
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy
The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the Allied attack by Fifth United States Army and British 8th Army into the Lombardy Plain which started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with the surrender of German forces in Italy....
, and even when the advance guard of the armored reconnaissance units of Brazilian Expeditionary Force
Brazilian Expeditionary Force
The Brazilian Expeditionary Force or BEF was a force about 25,700 men and women arranged by the Army and Air Force to fight alongside the Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II...
reached the city, it was already free of any German presence; the Germans retreated after the successful allied offensive and the general insurrection of Italian Partisans
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
that had began on 25 April 1945. Days later, troops from the U.S. Army's 1st Armored
1st Armored Division (United States)
The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
and 92nd Infantry Divisions came to substitute the Brazilian ones.
After World War II, Turin was rapidly rebuilt and its industrial base saw a huge development throughout the 1950s and 1960s, which attracted hundred of thousands of immigrants, particularly from the southern regions of Italy. The population reached 1 million in 1960 and peaked at almost 1.2 million in 1971. In the 1970s and 1980s, the automotive industry crisis severely hit the city and its population began to sharply decline, losing more than one-fourth of its total in 30 years.
21st century
The long population decline of the city has begun to reverse itself in recent years, as the population grew from 865,000 to slightly over 900,000 by the end of the century. In 2006, Turin hosted the Winter Olympic Games2006 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...
.
Geography
Turin is located in northwest Italy.It is surrounded on the western and northern front by the Alps and on the eastern front by a high hill that is the natural prosecution of the hills of Monferrato
Montferrat
Montferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy...
.
Four major rivers pass through the city: the Po and two of its tributaries, the Dora Riparia
Dora Riparia
The Dora Riparia is an Italian river, a left-hand tributary of the Po. It is 125 km long, with a 1,231 km² drainage basin. It originates in the Cottian Alps, close to the Col de Montgenèvre in France, where it is called the Piccola Dora...
(later changed to "Duria Minor" by the Romans, from the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
duria meaning "water"), the Stura di Lanzo
Stura di Lanzo
Stura di Lanzo is a 65 km long river in north-western Italy . It is formed from several tributaries near Lanzo Torinese. It flows into the river Po in Turin.The name Stura has Celtic origin: stur, which means "to fall".-External links:...
, and the Sangone
Sangone
Sāngone , was the name of a turtle from divine origin and featuring in Tongan myths about the Tui Tonga king named Tuitātui in the beginning of the 12th century AD...
.
Climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
zone (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfa), although close proximity to mountainous terrain results in conditions that can be variable with some continental
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
characteristics. This is in contrast to the Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
characteristic of the coast of Italy.
Winters are cold but dry, summers are mild in the hills and quite hot in the plains. Rain falls mostly during spring and autumn; during the hottest months, otherwise, rains are less usual but more strong (thunderstorms are usual). During the winter and autumn months banks of fog, which are sometimes very thick, form in the plains but rarely on the city because of its location at the end of the Susa Valley
Susa Valley
The Susa Valley is a valley in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the south. It is the longest valley in Italy. It extends over in an east-west direction from the French border to the outskirts of Turin. The valley takes its...
.
Its position on the east side of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
makes the weather drier than on the west side due to the föhn wind
Föhn wind
A föhn wind or foehn wind is a type of dry down-slope wind that occurs in the lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes...
effect.
Administration
| Composition of the City Council | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Members | |
| PD Democratic Party (Italy) The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election.... |
16 | |
| PDL The People of Freedom The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system.... |
7 | |
| SEL and IDV | 2 | |
| LN | 3 | |
Turin is divided into 10 boroughs; these do not necessarily correspond to historical districts in the city. The following list numerates the present day boroughs named Circoscrizioni and today's location of the historical districts inside them:
- Circoscrizione 1: Centro – Crocetta
- Circoscrizione 2: Santa Rita – Mirafiori Nord
- Circoscrizione 3: San Paolo – Cenisia – Pozzo Strada – Cit Turin – Borgata Lesna
- Circoscrizione 4: San Donato – Campidoglio – Parella
- Circoscrizione 5: Borgo Vittoria – Madonna di Campagna – Lucento – Vallette
- Circoscrizione 6: Barriera di Milano – Regio Parco – Barca – Bertolla – Falchera – Rebaudengo – Villaretto
- Circoscrizione 7: AuroraAurora (Turin)Aurora is an historical district in the city of Turin, Italy. The district includes:*Porta Palazzo quarter. In this area is placed the biggest European open market , hosted in Piazza della Repubblica;...
– Vanchiglia – SassiSupergaSuperga is a hill situated on the south bank of the Po River to the east of Turin in north-west Italy. At 672 metres above sea level, it is one of the most prominent of the hills which form an amphitheatre around the city....
– Madonna del Pilone - Circoscrizione 8: San Salvario – Cavoretto – Borgo Po
- Circoscrizione 9: Nizza Millefonti – LingottoLingottoLingotto is a district of Turin, Italy, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was a huge automobile factory, constructed by Fiat. Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars...
– Filadelfia - Circoscrizione 10: Mirafiori Sud
The mayor of Turin is directly elected every five years. Piero Fassino
Piero Fassino
Pietro Franco "Piero" Fassino is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party, the current Mayor of Turin and a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.-Biography:...
, the current mayor, belongs to the centre-left coalition:
- Name of the Mayor: Piero FassinoPiero FassinoPietro Franco "Piero" Fassino is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party, the current Mayor of Turin and a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.-Biography:...
- Date of election: May 16, 2011
- Party: Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (Italy)The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
Turin's City Council is composed by 50 members.
Architecture
The symbol of Turin is the Mole AntonellianaMole Antonelliana
The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later,...
, which is named after the architect who built it: Alessandro Antonelli
Alessandro Antonelli
Alessandro Antonelli was an Italian architect of the 19th century. His most famous works are the Mole Antonelliana in Turin and both the Novara Cathedral and the Basilica of St...
. Construction began in 1863 as a Jewish synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. Nowadays it houses the National Museum of Cinema
National Museum of Cinema
The National Museum of Cinema located in Turin, is an Italian motion picture museum, fitted out inside the Mole Antonelliana tower. It is operated by the Maria Adriana Prolo Foundation, and the core of its collection is the result of the work of the historian and collector Maria Adriana Prolo...
, and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world (167 metres or 548 feet).
The Palatine Towers
Palatine Towers
The Palatine Towers is an ancient Roman-medieval structure in Turin, Italy. The structure served as one of four Roman city gates, which allowed access from north to the cardus maximus, the typical second main street of a Roman town...
are an ancient Roman-medieval structure that served as one of four Roman city gate
City gate
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. Other terms include port.-Uses:City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals...
s, which allowed access from north to the cardus
Cardo
The cardo was a north-south oriented street in Roman cities, military camps, and coloniae. The cardo, an integral component of city planning, was lined with shops and vendors, and served as a hub of economic life. The main cardo was called cardo maximus.Most Roman cities also had a Decumanus...
maximus, the typical second main street of a Roman town. The Palatine Towers are among the best preserved Roman remains in northern Italy.
The Turin Cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
(Italian: San Giovanni Battista), is the major church of the city. It was built during 1491–1498 and it is adjacent to an earlier campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
(1470). The Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
of the Holy Shroud, the current resting place of the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...
, was added to the structure in 1668–1694. Attached to the cathedral is the chapel of the Santissimo Sudario, built by Guarini (1694), where is preserved in a casket a cloth believed to be the shroud in which the Body of Christ was wrapped when it was taken down from the Cross, The Church of Corpus Domini records a miracle which took place during the sack of the city in 1453, when a soldier was carrying off an ostensorium containing the Blessed Sacrament: the ostensorium fell to the ground, while the Host remained suspended in air. The present splendid church, erected in 1610 to replace the original chapel which stood on the spot, is the work of Ascanio Vittozzi.
The Consolata, a sanctuary much frequented by pilgrims, stands on the site of the tenth-century monastery of S. Andrea, and is the work of Guarini. It was sumptuously restored in 1903. Outside the city are: S. Maria Ausiliatrice, erected by Don Bosco, the Gran Madre di Dio, erected in 1818 on occasion of the return of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821, and Jacobite Pretender from 1819 until his death.-Biography:...
and S. Maria del Monte (1583) on the Monte dei Cappucini.
In the hills overlooking the city the basilica church of Superga
Basilica of Superga
The Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin.It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga, to fulfill a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin...
provides a view of Turin against a backdrop of the snow-capped Alps. The basilica holds the tombs of many of the dukes of Savoy, as well as many of the kings of Sardinia. Superga can be reached by means of the Superga Rack Railway
Superga Rack Railway
The Superga Rack Railway is a mountain railway line in the city of Turin in Italy. Managed by Gruppo Torinese Trasporti, it connects the Turin suburb of Sassi to the Basilica of Superga at an altitude of 672m...
from the suburb of Sassi. The Basilica of Superga, with a dome 244 feet high, a work of Juvarra, built by Amedeo II ex voto for the deliverance of Turin (1706), served since 1772 as a royal mausoleum.
Villas, parks and gardens
The most popular park in the city is The Parco del Valentino. In 1961, for the celebrations of Italia61 (Italian unificationItalian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
centenary), an important international exhibition (FLOR61: Flowers of the world in Turin) took place in the park with 800 exhibitors from 19 countries. For the occasion the plan for the new lighting of the park, with its fountains and paths, was assigned to Guido Chiarelli, the head engineer at the city hall.
Other large parks are the Parco delle Pellerina, the Parco della Colletta, the Rignon park, the recent Colonnetti park and the University botanical gardens
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino is a botanical garden and arboretum operated by the Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale of the University of Turin...
. Around the city, there are several other parks, such as the Parco della Mandria and the Parco della Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, ancient hunting grounds of the Savoy, and those situated on the hill of Turin. Many parks are smaller and are located in the various districts: there is also a total of 240 playgrounds in these parks. In the early 1960s, mayor Amedeo Peyron realised the first garden in Italy with games for children. According to a report of Legambiente 2007, Turin is the first Italian city to impose structures and policies on childcare. One of the most famous parks with a children's playground is the Parco della Tesoriera which is also home to the Andrea delle Corte Municipal Music Library housed in a villa built in 1715 and which was once the Royal Treasurer's residence. The park is located in the Parella suburb of Turin and in summer plays host to various concerts
Rosa Vercellana (1833–1885), commonly known as ‘Rosina’ and, in Piedmontese as 'La Bela Rosin' (the beautiful Rosin), was the mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
and later wife of Victor Emmanuel II
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
, King of Italy. She was made Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda
Fontanafredda
Fontanafredda is an Italian comune of about 11,000 inhabitants in Province of Pordenone, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The town hall is located in the frazione of Vigonovo....
, but never Queen of Italy. As the Savoy family refused to allow her to be buried next to her husband in the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, her children had a mausoleum built for her in a similar form and on a smaller scale in Turin, next to the road to the Castello di Mirafiori. The circular copper-domed neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
monument, surmounted by a Latin cross and surrounded by a large park, was designed by Angelo Dimezzi and completed in 1888.
Demographics
In 2009, the city proper had a population of about 910,000, which is a significant increase on the 2001 census figure. This result is due to a growing immigration from Southern Italy and abroad. Approximately a 13,5 percent (122.946) of the population is composed of foreigners, the largest numbers coming from RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(51,017), Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(22,511), Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(9,165), Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(7,044), China (5,483), and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
(3,417). Like many Northern Italian cities, there is a large proportion of pensioners in comparison to youth. Around 18 percent of the population is under 20 years of age while, 22 percent is over 65. The population of the Turin urban area totals 1.7 million inhabitants, ranking fourth in Italy, while the Turin metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
has a population of 2.2 million inhabitants. The median age is 43.7.
Economy
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...
is located. The city has a GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
of $58 billion and is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power. The city has been ranked in 2010 by GaWC as a Gamma-world city
Global city
A global city is a city that is deemed to be an important node in the global economic system...
, alongside cities such as Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Marseilles, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
.
Turin is home to the Lingotto
Lingotto
Lingotto is a district of Turin, Italy, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was a huge automobile factory, constructed by Fiat. Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars...
building, which was at one time the largest car factory in the world, and now houses a convention centre, a concert hall, a multiplex, an art gallery, a shopping centre
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
and a Le Méridien
Le Méridien
Le Méridien is an international hotel brand with a European perspective, formerly headquartered in the United Kingdom, with 130 properties. It is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide....
hotel. Other companies founded in Turin are Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
, Pininfarina
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
, Bertone, Sparco
Sparco
Sparco S.p.A is an Italian auto part and accessory company headquartered in Settimo Torinese, Turin, Italy that specializes in producing items such as seats, steering wheels, harnesses, racewear and helmets. Sparco branded alloy wheels are produced under licence by OZ Group...
, Italdesign
Italdesign Giugiaro
Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A is an automobile design and engineering company based in Moncalieri, Italy founded in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani as Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A...
, Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia SpA is one of the most famous Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firms, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio, located at 4 Corso Valentino in Turin....
, Fioravanti, Stola
Stola
The stola was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga, or the pallium, that were worn by men.Originally, women wore togas as well, but after the 2nd century BC, the toga was worn exclusively by men, and women were expected to wear the stola...
, Intesa Sanpaolo
Intesa Sanpaolo
Intesa Sanpaolo is a banking group resulting from the merger between Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI based in Turin, Italy. It has clear leadership in the Italian market and a minor but growing international presence focused on Central-Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa Intesa Sanpaolo...
, Borbonese, Superga
Superga (brand)
Superga is an Italian brand of shoes founded in 1913. It originally made tennis shoes, including the famous model "2750 Classic" but then diversified.-History:...
, Kristina Ti, Fisico, Kappa
Kappa (company)
Kappa is an Italian company specialized at the manufacture of sporting clothes and accessories, that started as a sock and underwear manufacturer in 1916 in Turin.-Logo:...
, Invicta
Invicta (car)
Invicta is a British automobile manufacturer. The brand has been available intermittently through successive decades. Initially, the manufacturer was based in Cobham, Surrey, England from 1925 to 1933, then in Chelsea, London, England from 1933 to 1938 and finally in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
, Laura Tonatto, Nicolao Profumiere, Xerjoff, Repossi, Mattioli, TataBorello, Lavazza
Luigi Lavazza
Luigi Lavazza was an Italian businessman. He was the founder, in 1895, of the Lavazza coffee company in Turin.-Biography:Lavazza was born in Murisengo, a small city in the province of Turin ....
, Martini & Rossi
Martini & Rossi
Martini & Rossi is an Italian multinational alcoholic beverage company primarily associated with the Martini brand of vermouth and also with sparkling wine . It also produces the French vermouth, Noilly Prat.-History:...
and the chocolate factories Caffarel
Pierre Paul Caffarel
Pierre Paul Caffarel , Italian entrepreneur who created the chocolate company Caffarel.In 1826 Caffarel purchased a revolutionary industrial machine, invented by Bozelli of Genoa, which was able to produce more than 300 kilos a day...
, Streglio, Domori, Guido Gobino, Venchi
Venchi
Venchi is an Italian gourmet chocolate manufacturer founded by chocolatier Silvano Venchi. After its establishment in Turin in early 1878, the company gained popularity throughout Italy with its Nougatine, small candies made of crushed and caramelized hazelnuts coated in dark chocolate...
, Peyrano Pfatisch.
The city is also well known for its aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
industry (Alenia
Alenia Aeronautica
Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, is a European aerospace company from Italy. Its subsidiaries include Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali...
). The International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
modules Harmony, Columbus
Columbus (ISS module)
Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency ....
, Tranquility, as well as the Cupola and all MPLMs
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module is a large pressurized container used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station . An MPLM was carried in the cargo bay of a Shuttle and berthed to the Unity or Harmony modules on the ISS. From there, supplies were...
were produced in Turin. The future European launcher projects beyond Ariane 5
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
will also be managed from Turin by the new NGL
NGL Prime SpA
NGL Prime SpA is a technology company created for the purpose of all activities related to future European launchers which are not related to Ariane 5 or Vega or their evolutions. It is a joint venture of EADS Astrium and Finmeccanica . The corresponding shareholder agreement was signed on 31...
company, a subsidiary of EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
(70%) and Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
(30%).
Turin is also the birthplace of some of the country's main companies, such as Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was...
(telecommunications) and Rai
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
(television). Most of these industries have since moved their headquarters to other parts of Italy, but Turin still retains the National Museum of Cinema inside the Mole Antonelliana
Mole Antonelliana
The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later,...
.
Tourism
Turin, as the former capital of the Kingdom of SardiniaKingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
, is home of the Savoy Residences
Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy is a group of structures in Turin and its province, in Piedmont . Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997, it includes the following patrimonies:-Residences:*In Turin:...
. In addition to the 17th-century Royal Palace
Royal Palace of Turin
Royal Palace of Turin or Palazzo Reale, is a palace in Turin, northern Italy. It was the royal palace of the House of Savoy. It was modernised greatly by the French born Madama Reale Christine Marie of France in the seventeenth century. The palace was worked on by Filippo Juvarra...
, built for Madama Reale Christine Marie of France
Christine Marie of France
Christine of France was the sister of Louis XIII and the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648....
(the official residence of the Savoys until 1865) there are many palaces, residences and castles in the city centre and in the surrounding towns. Turin is home to Palazzo Chiablese, the Royal Armoury, the Royal Library, Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama, Turin
Palazzo Madama e Casaforte degli Acaja is a palace in Turin, northern Italy.-History:At the beginning of the first century BC, the site of the palace was occupied by a gate in the Roman walls from which the decumanus maximus of Augusta Taurinorum departed. Two of the towers, although restored,...
, Palazzo Carignano
Palazzo Carignano
The Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy, which currently houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was once a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. It is famous for its unique rounded façade...
, Villa della Regina
Villa della Regina
The Villa della Regina is a palace outside the city of Turin, Italy. It was originally built by the House of Savoy in the 17th century.-History:...
, and the Valentino Castle
Castello del Valentino
The Castle of Valentino is an historic building in the north-west Italian city of Turin. It is located in Valentino Park, and is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin...
. The complex of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy is a group of structures in Turin and its province, in Piedmont . Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997, it includes the following patrimonies:-Residences:*In Turin:...
in Turin and in the nearby cities of Rivoli, Moncalieri
Moncalieri
Moncalieri is a town and comune of approximately 58,000 inhabitants about eight kilometers directly south of downtown Turin , in Piedmont, Italy. It is notable for its castle, built in the 12th century and enlarged in the 15th century, which later became the favorite residence of Maria Clotilde...
, Venaria Reale
Venaria Reale
Venaria Reale is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 8 km northwest of Turin....
, Agliè
Agliè
Agliè is a comune in the province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin.Agliè borders the following municipalities: San Martino Canavese, Torre Canavese, Bairo, Vialfrè, Cuceglio, San Giorgio Canavese, and Ozegna.-Main sights:Agliè's main attraction is...
, Racconigi
Racconigi
Racconigi is a town and comune in Piedmont, Italy. It is located in the province of Cuneo, south of Turin, and north of Cuneo by rail.The economy is mostly based on agriculture, production of milk and meat, and industrial working of metal sheets....
, Stupinigi
Stupinigi
The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in northern Italy, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list...
, Pollenzo
Pollentia
thumb|250px|Church of San Vittore at Pollenzo.Pollentia was an ancient city the left bank of the Tanaro, known today as Pollenzo, a frazione of Bra in the Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, northern Italy....
and Govone
Govone
Govone is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 45 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo...
was declared a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 1997. In recent years, Turin has become an increasingly popular tourist destination, ranking 203rd in the world and 10th in Italy in 2008, with about 240,000 international arrivals.
Museo Egizio
The Museo Egizio is a museum in Turin, Italy, specialising in Egyptian archaeology and anthropology. It houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo...
specialises in archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, in particular the Art of Ancient Egypt
Art of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BC to 300 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized and symbolic...
. It is home to what is regarded as one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt. In 2006 it received more than 500,000 visitors. The Museum of Oriental Art
Museum of Oriental Art (Turin)
The Museum of Oriental Art is a museum located in Palazzo Mazzonis in the city of Turin, Italy.The museum contains one of the most important asian art collection in Italy.- History :...
houses one of the most important Asian art
Asian art
Asian art can refer to art amongst many cultures in Asia.-Various types of Asian art:*Afghan art*Azerbaijanian art*Balinese art*Bhutanese art*Buddhist art*Burmese contemporary art*Chinese art*Eastern art*Indian art*Iranian art*Islamic art...
collections in Italy.
Other notable museums include the Puppet Museum, the Torino Automotive Museum and the Museo Nazionale della Montagna (National Museum of the Mountains).
The city is home to the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...
: a linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma
Physical trauma
Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
in a manner consistent with crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the city centre. The origins of the shroud and its image are still the subject of intense debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers. It is popularly believed to be a depiction of Jesus Christ, however this matter is still controversial, as there seems to be a sufficient amount of historical and scientific evidence supporting the idea that it is, or is not, the Holy Face of Jesus
Holy Face of Jesus
The Holy Face of Jesus is a title for specific images which some Catholics believe to have been miraculously formed representations of the face of Jesus Christ...
. Nonetheless, it is a symbol of religious devotion and is one of the city's main symbols and tourist attractions.
Remaining a village for a long time, in 1559 the Duke Emmanuel Philibert
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580....
of Savoy made Turin the capital of his domains. In the Baroque period, Turin became important to a court and the Duke had the ambition to transform the city into a major artistic and cultural capital. That is why working in a city of artists of great repute, especially architects and planners like Carlo di Castellamonte
Carlo di Castellamonte
Carlo di Castellamonte was an Italian architect, civil and military engineer, one of the main exponents of Piedmontese Baroque.Castellamonte was born in Turin. After his studies in Rome, he returned in Piedmont where was assistant to Ascanio Vitozzi...
and his son Amedeo, which include the route of a Roman castrum the new capital and build beautiful buildings, Guarino Guarini and, in the eighteenth century, Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra was an Italian architect and stage set designer.-Biography:Filippo Juvarra was an Italian Baroque architect working in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, to a family of goldsmiths and engravers...
and Vittorio Alfieri
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri was an Italian dramatist, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy."-Early life:Alfieri was born at Asti in Piedmont....
.
As for the painting and the visual arts, Turin became a point of reference, especially in the 20th century. In the 1920s, the painter Felice Casorati inspired a number of students called The group of six of Turin and these included Carlo Levi
Carlo Levi
Dr. Carlo Levi was an Italian-Jewish painter, writer, activist, anti-fascist, and doctor.He is best known for his book Cristo si è fermato a Eboli , published in 1945, a memoir of his time spent in exile in Lucania, Italy, after being arrested in connection with his political activism...
, Henry Paolucci, Gigi Chessa, Francis Menzio, Nicola Galante and Jessie Boswell.
Two important artists were born in Turin: the sculptor Umberto Mastroianni
Umberto Mastroianni
Umberto Mastroianni , was an Italian abstract sculptor. In 1989, he received the first Praemium Imperiale for sculpture. During World War II, he was in the Italian resistance movement.He was the uncle of the actor Marcello Mastroianni....
and the architect Carlo Mollino
Carlo Mollino
- Biography :Born in Turin, Piedmont, Carlo Mollino was the son of Eugenio Mollino, an engineer. As he grew up, Carlo Mollino became interested in a variety of topics that were as outrageous as his art, such as design, architecture, the occult, and race cars....
. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, the international centre of Turin (Arte Povera
Arte Povera
Arte Povera is a modern art movement. The term was introduced in Italy during the period of upheaval at the end of the 1960s, when artists were taking a radical stance. Artists began attacking the values of established institutions of government, industry, and culture, and even questioning whether...
), the presence in the city of artists like Alighiero Boetti
Alighiero Boetti
Alighiero Fabrizio Boetti known as Alighiero e Boetti was an Italian conceptual artist, considered to be a member of the art movement Arte Povera....
, Mario Merz
Mario Merz
Mario Merz was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz.-Life:Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the Giustizia e Libertà antifascist group. He experimented with a continuous graphic stroke–not removing his pencil point from...
, Giuseppe Penone
Giuseppe Penone
Giuseppe Penone is an Italian artist. Penone started working professionally in 1968 in the Garessio forest, near where he was born. He is the younger member of the Italian movement named "Arte Povera", this term has been coined by Germano Celant. Penone's work is concerned with establishing a...
, Piero Gilardi and Michelangelo Pistoletto
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Michelangelo Pistoletto is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera...
. In those years there was a strong artistic influence of the famous designer, Armando Testa, the founder of advertising agency. Currently operating in the city are established artists like Ugo Nespolo
Ugo Nespolo
Ugo Nespolo is an Italian painter and sculptor, particularly known for his experimental films, his applied arts works and his artistic collaborations in advertising, theater and literature.-Life and works:...
and Carol Rama
Carol Rama
Olga Carol Rama is a self-taught artist whose unconventional painting encompasses an erotic, and often sexually aggressive universe populated by characters who present themes of sexual identity with specific references to female sensuality. The Fondazione Sandretto carries over 150 pieces of...
.
Literature
A literary centre for many centuries, Turin began to attract writers only after the establishment of the court of the Duchy of Savoy. One of the most famous writers of the 17th century was Giambattista Marino, which in 1608 moved to the court of Charles Emmanuel ICharles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I , known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630...
. Marino suffered an assassination attempt by a rival, Gaspar Murtola, and was later imprisoned for a year because of gossip that he had said and written against the duke. Perhaps, because of this, in 1615 Marino left Turin and moved to France.
The main literary figures during the Baroque age in Turin were Emanuele Tesauro
Emanuele Tesauro
Emanuele Tesauro was a rhetorician, dramatist, Marinist poet, and historian from Turin.His Il Cannocchiale Aristotelico is a work on tropes, literally the oxymoronic "Aristotelian telescope". Its main concern is the invention and wit of ingenious metaphors. It has been called "one of the most...
and Alessandro Tassoni
Alessandro Tassoni
Alessandro Tassoni was an Italian poet and writer.- Life :He was born in Modena, to a noble family. In 1597, he began his service for the cardinal Colonna whom he followed to Spain. In 1603 he was back in Italy and moved to Rome.In 1612 he published anonymously the booklet Le Filippiche in which...
. In the next century Turino hosted the poet Vittorio Alfieri
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri was an Italian dramatist, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy."-Early life:Alfieri was born at Asti in Piedmont....
from Asti for a while. The situation was very different in the 19th century, especially since the city became a point of reference for Italian unification and, subsequently, the capital of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
. Indeed, in those years Tommaseo, Settembrini and John Meadows resided in the city. A major literary and cultural woman of that time was Olympia Savio. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Turin was home to writers such as Guido Gozzano
Guido Gozzano
Guido Gustavo Gozzano was an Italian poet and writer.-Biography:He was born in Turin, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Massimo D'Azeglio...
, Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children's novel Heart.-Early career:...
, Emilio Salgari
Emilio Salgari
Emilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction.For over a century, his novels were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventures. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante. Today...
and Dino Segre, the latter known by the pseudonym of Pitigrilli
Pitigrilli
Pitigrilli, the pseudonym for Dino Segre, was an Italian writer who made his living as a journalist and novelist.-Early life to adulthood:...
.
Turin had a very important role in Italian literature after World War II: to act as a catalyst was the publishing house founded by Giulio Einaudi
Giulio Einaudi
Giulio Einaudi was one of the most important publishers in Italian history.-Biography:Giulio Einaudi was born in Dogliani in 1912, the son of Luigi Einaudi, future president of the Italian Republic, and his wife Ida.He attended the Massimo d'Azeglio liceo classico, and became a student of noted...
, for which worked figures such as Cesare Pavese
Cesare Pavese
Cesare Pavese was an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator; he is widely considered among the major authors of the 20th century in his home country.- Early life and education :...
, Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
, Vitaliano Brancati
Vitaliano Brancati
Vitaliano Brancati was an Italian writer. He was born in Pachino and died in Turin. In 1950 he won the Bagutta Prize.-Selected bibliography:* Don Juan in Sicily * The Handsome Antonio...
, Primo Levi
Primo Levi
Primo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
, Natalia Ginzburg
Natalia Ginzburg
Natalia Ginzburg née Levi was an award-winning Italian author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II, and philosophy. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, for which she received the Strega Prize and Bagutta Prize...
, Fernanda Pivano
Fernanda Pivano
Fernanda Pivano was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and critic.Born in Genoa, as a teenager she moved with her family to Turin where she attended the Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum. In 1941 she received a bachelor's degree with a thesis on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, which earned her a prize...
, Beppe Fenoglio
Beppe Fenoglio
Beppe Fenoglio was an Italian writer. His work was published in a critical edition after his death, but controversy remains about his book Il partigiano Johnny , often considered his best work, which was published posthumously in 1968.The works of...
, Carlo Fruttero
Carlo Fruttero
Carlo Fruttero is an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies. He is mostly known for his joint work with Franco Lucentini, especially as authors of crime novels...
and Franco Lucentini
Franco Lucentini
Franco Lucentini was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies. His novel The Sunday Woman, which was also made into a film, 1976, with Marcello Mastroianni and Jacqueline Bisset.- Biography :...
. In more recent years, writers active in the city are Giovanni Arpino
Giovanni Arpino
Giovanni Arpino was an Italian writer and journalist.- Life :Born in Pula to Piedmontese parents, Arpino moved to Bra in the Province of Cuneo...
, Nico Orengo, Giuseppe Culicchia, Margaret Oggero, Laura Mancinelli, Alessandra Montrucchio, Alessandro Perissinotto
Alessandro Perissinotto
Alessandro Perissinotto is an Italian writer, translator and university professor.- Biography :After a number of jobs which helped funding his studies he graduates in 1992 in Italian Literature with a dissertation on semiotics and starts his research in multimedia, teaching instruments, the...
, Guido Quartz, Piero Soria and Alessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
. Baricco was also among the founders of the School Holden, dedicated to teaching the techniques of writing.
Media
After AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, New Delhi, Antwerp and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Turin was chosen by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as World Book Capital
World Book Capital
World Book Capital is a title bestowed by UNESCO to a city in recognition of the quality of its programs to promote books and reading and the dedication of all players in the book industry....
for the year 2006. The International Book Fair
Turin International Book Fair
The Turin International Book Fair is Italy's largest trade fair for books, held annually in mid-May in Turin, Italy....
is one of the most important fairs of its kind in Europe.
Turin is home to one of Italy's principal national newspapers, La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
, and the sports daily newspaper Tuttosport
Tuttosport
Tuttosport is an Italian sport newspaper published since 30 July 1945.Renato Casalbore founded the newspaper as a bi-weekly. In 1946, it moved to three editions a week, and since 12 March 1951 it has been published daily...
.
The city is also served by other publications such as the Turin editions of La Repubblica
La Repubblica
la Repubblica is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Founded in 1976 in Rome by the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, as of 2008 is the second largest circulation newspaper, behind the Corriere della Sera.-Foundation:...
, il Giornale
Il Giornale
il Giornale is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan, Italy.-History:The newspaper was planned in 1972 by the journalist Indro Montanelli, together with the colleague Enzo Bettiza, after some disagreements with the new pro-left editorial line adopted by the newspaper Corriere della Sera,...
, Leggo
Leggo
Leggo is an Italian newspaper and was the first free daily newspaper published in Italy by Caltagirone Editore in 2001....
, City
City (newspaper)
City is an Italian free daily newspaper published in Italy by RCS MediaGroup. Nine separate editions are produced for the cities of Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples, Bologna, Florence, Verona, Bari and Genoa.-External links:* *...
, Metro
Metro (Italy)
Metro is an Italian free daily newspaper published in Italy by Metro International. Ten separate editions are produced for the cities of Bergamo, Bologna, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Padua, Rome, Turin, Venice and Verona, with other special editions .It is the most read Free daily newspaper in Rome and...
and E Polis
E Polis Torino
E Polis Torino is an Italian local newspaper owned by the San Marino-based publishing company E Polis and based in Naples, Italy. Although it is not a free newspaper, 70% of copies are distributed free near very busy locations like universities, railway stations, airports, and shopping centres; the...
.
RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
has had a production centre in Turin since 1954.
Sports
The city is home to two football teams: Juventus F.C.Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
(founded in 1897) and Torino F.C.
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
(founded in 1906). Juventus has the larger fan base, especially in southern Italy, while Torino enjoys a more localised support. The two clubs contest the oldest derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
in Italy: the Derby della Mole
Derby della Mole
Derby della Mole, known in English as the Turin Derby is the local derby, played out between the city's two most successful teams, Juventus F.C. and Torino F.C.. The first match took place in 1906 and most derbies take place in the Serie A or Coppa Italia...
or the Turin derby.
Juventus is Italy's
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
most successful football club and one of the most laureated and important in the world. It ranks joint seventh in the list of the world's clubs with the most official international titles (fourth between European clubs). The club was Italy's most successful of the 20th century
20th century
Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....
and the the first in association football history—and remains the only one in the world to date (2011)—to have won all possible confederation competitions and the club world title. The Stadio delle Alpi
Stadio delle Alpi
The Stadio delle Alpi was a football and athletics stadium in Turin, Italy and was the home of both Juventus Football Club and Torino Football Club between 1990 and 2006. In English, the name meant "Stadium of the Alps," a reference to the nearby Alps mountain range...
was one of the host stadiums for the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
and it was demolished in 2006 to make way for Juventus' owned ground, the Juventus Stadium, inaugurated in 2011. The other city's club, Torino, currently uses the Stadio Olimpico, property of the Comune of Turin, one of the host stadiums for the 1934 FIFA World Cup
1934 FIFA World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934....
and the venue of the XX 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...
.
In 1949, in the Superga air disaster
Superga air disaster
The Superga air disaster took place on Wednesday, 4 May 1949, when a plane carrying almost the entire Torino A.C. football squad, popularly known as Il Grande Torino, crashed into the hill of Superga near Turin killing all 31 aboard including 18 players, club officials, journalists accompanying the...
, a plane carrying almost the whole Torino F.C. team (at that time the most important team in Italy and known as the Grande Torino) crashed into the Basilica of Superga
Basilica of Superga
The Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin.It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga, to fulfill a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin...
in the Turin hills. Valentino Mazzola
Valentino Mazzola
Valentino Mazzola was an Italian footballer and captain of the legendary Grande Torino side, killed in the Superga air disaster. He is considered one of the best football players of all time and perhaps the first modern all-around footballer, as he was an attacking midfielder who could score,...
, father of Ferruccio and Sandro (who were later to become football champions), was among those who perished in the accident.
The C.U.S. Torino volleyball team won the domestic league four times and, in the 1979–80 season, the Volleyball European Champion's Cup. It was the first team from western Europe to win this competition. In the 1990s the team was dismantled as a result of financial issues.
Turin hosted 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...
from 10 February 2006, through 26 February 2006. Turin, with a metropolitan area of 1.7 million, was the largest city to have ever hosted a Winter Olympics. The title fell to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada, (2.5 million) when that city hosted the XXI Olympic Winter Games
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
.
The FISA
International Rowing Federation
The Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron, or FISA for short, is the International Rowing Federation which is the governing body for international Rowing. Its current president is Denis Oswald...
(International Rowing Federation) was founded in Turin in 1892.
Turin is also the home of the Valentino Park motor racing circuit.
Cinema
Turin is the Italian city where film chromatography was first established. As such, it forms the birthplace of Italian cinema. Because of its historic, geographical and cultural proximity to France, Italian filmmakers were naturally influenced by French cinemaCinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
and the Lumière brothers
Auguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean , were among the earliest filmmakers in history...
. The first Italian cinema screening occurred in Turin in March 1896. In November 1896, Italian filmmakers performed the first cinema screening of a film before a fee-paying audience.
By the start of the 20th century (especially after 1907), a number of the first Italian films were aired in Turin. Examples include Giovanni Pastrone
Giovanni Pastrone
Giovanni Pastrone, also known by his artistic name Piero Fosco , was an Italian film pioneer, director, screenwriter, actor and technician.Pastrone was born in Montechiaro d'Asti...
Cabiria
Cabiria
Cabiria is a silent movie from the early years of Italy's movie industry, directed by Giovanni Pastrone . The movie is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War . It follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl, Cabiria, and features...
, in 1914, one of the first blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
s in history.
During the 1920s and 30s, Turin hosted a number of film productions and major film studios (film houses), such as the Itala film, Aquila and Fert Studios. Turin's prominence in Italian film continued until 1937, the year Cinecittà
Cinecittà
Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema.-History:The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi for propaganda purposes, under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte"...
was inaugurated in Rome.
After World War II, the cinematic scene in Turin continued to thrive. 1956 saw the opening of the National Museum of Cinema
National Museum of Cinema
The National Museum of Cinema located in Turin, is an Italian motion picture museum, fitted out inside the Mole Antonelliana tower. It is operated by the Maria Adriana Prolo Foundation, and the core of its collection is the result of the work of the historian and collector Maria Adriana Prolo...
, first housed in the Palazzo Chiablese
Palazzo Chiablese
The Palazzo Chiablese is a building which is part of the Royal Palace of Turin, northern Italy. It was the successive home of the Duke of Chablais and then Carlo Felice, king of Sardinia and Ferdinando the Duke of Genoa. It is today the home of a cultural collection which honouring the history...
and then, from 2000, in the imposing headquarters of the Mole Antonelliana
Mole Antonelliana
The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later,...
. In 1982 the film critic Gianni Rondolino created Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani, which later became the Torino Film Festival
Torino Film Festival
The Torino Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival...
.
Today Turin is one of the main cinematographic and television centres in Italy, thanks to the role of the Turin Film Commission that reports the production of many feature films, soap operas and commercials.
Cuisine
Turin chocolate firms, aside from many kinds of chocolate, produce a typical chocolateChocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
called Gianduiotto
Gianduiotto
thumb|Two GianduiottiThe Gianduiotto is a Piedmontese chocolate whose shape is similar to an upturned boat. Gianduiotti are individually wrapped in a tinfoil cover, usually gold or silver-colored...
, named after Gianduja
Gianduja (commedia dell'arte)
Gianduja is one of the masks of the Italian Commedia dell'Arte, typically representing the town of Turin .The mask depicts an honest peasant of Piedmontese countryland, with a certain inclination for wine , gastronomy and beautiful girls, while strictly faithful to his lover Giacometta, who is...
, a local Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
mask. Every year the town organises CioccolaTÒ, a two-week chocolate festival run with the main Piedmontese chocolate producers, such as Caffarel
Pierre Paul Caffarel
Pierre Paul Caffarel , Italian entrepreneur who created the chocolate company Caffarel.In 1826 Caffarel purchased a revolutionary industrial machine, invented by Bozelli of Genoa, which was able to produce more than 300 kilos a day...
, Streglio, Venchi
Venchi
Venchi is an Italian gourmet chocolate manufacturer founded by chocolatier Silvano Venchi. After its establishment in Turin in early 1878, the company gained popularity throughout Italy with its Nougatine, small candies made of crushed and caramelized hazelnuts coated in dark chocolate...
and others, as well as some big international companies, such as Lindt & Sprüngli
Lindt & Sprüngli
Lindt & Sprüngli AG, more commonly known as Lindt, is a luxury Swiss chocolate and confectionery company.- History :The origins of the company date back to 1845...
. Since the mid 1980s, Piedmont has also benefited from the start of the Slow Food
Slow Food
Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of...
movement and Terra Madre
Terra Madre
Terra Madre is a network of food communities, each committed to producing quality food in a responsible, sustainable way. Terra Madre also refers to a major bi-annual conference held in Torino, Italy intended to foster discussion and introduce innovative concepts in the field of food, gastronomy,...
, events that have highlighted the rich agricultural and vinicultural value of the Po valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
and northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
.
Education
- Main page: Education in Turin
Turin is home to one of Italy's oldest universities, the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
, which still ranks among the best universities in Italy. Another established university in the city is 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...
, that ranks among Top 50 universities in the world and #1 in Italy ("Academic Ranking of World Universities" published by the Institute of Higher Education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University or SJTU), sometimes referred to as Shanghai Jiaotong University , is a top public research university located in Shanghai, China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is known as one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China...
, in engineering, technology and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
fields). The business school ESCP Europe, ranked among the 10 best business school
Business school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
s in Europe, also has a campus in Turin. In recent years some small English language education institutions have been opened (St. John International University
St. John International University
St. John International University is a private, co-educational American university founded in 2007 and incorporated by the state of New Hampshire in 2008. The university is not in any way affiliated with the more famous St. John's University Italian campus in Rome. The university’s campus is...
, International University College of Turin, Buddies Elementary School).
Transports
The city currently has a large number of rail and road work sites. Although this activity has increased as a result of the 2006 Winter Olympics2006 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...
, parts of it had long been planned. Some of the work sites deal with general roadworks to improve traffic flow, such as underpasses and flyovers, but two projects are of major importance and will change the shape of the town radically.
Torino Porta Susa railway station
Torino Porta Susa is a railway station in Turin, northern Italy; it is currently the second busiest mainline station in the city, after Torino Porta Nuova. It is located in Piazza XVIII Dicembre, on the end of Via Cernaia, not far from Piazza Statuto...
, on this section, will become Turin's main station to substitute the terminus of Porta Nuova
Torino Porta Nuova railway station
Torino Porta Nuova station is currently the main railway station of Turin. It is the third busiest station in Italy for passenger flow after Rome Termini and Milan Central, with about 192,000 journeys per day and 70 million travellers a year and a total of about 350 trains per day. It is...
with a through station.
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...
. This project is expected to continue for years and to cover a larger part of the city, but its first phase was finished in time for the 2006 Olympic Games
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...
, inaugurated on 4 February 2006 and opened to the public the day after. The first leg of the subway system linked the nearby town of Collegno
Collegno
Collegno is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 9 km west of Turin.-Twin towns — Sister cities:Collegno is twinned with the following cities:-External links:*...
with Porta Susa in Turin's town centre. On 4 October 2007 the line was extended to Porta Nuova and then, in March 2011, to Lingotto. The main street in the town centre (Via Roma) runs atop a tunnel built during the fascist era (when Via Roma was built). The tunnel was supposed to host the underground line but it's now used as an underground car park. A project to build an underground system was ready in the 1970s, with government funding for it and for similar projects in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Rome. Whilst the other two cities went ahead with the projects, Turin's local government led by mayor Diego Novelli shelved the proposal as it believed it to be too costly and unnecessary.
The city has an international airport known as Caselle International Airport
Turin Caselle Airport
Turin Airport , also known as Turin-Caselle Airport , is an airport serving Turin, a city in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. It is also named Sandro Pertini Airport , after former Italian President Sandro Pertini.The airport is a focus city of the reborn Alitalia...
Sandro Pertini (TRN), located in Caselle Torinese
Caselle Torinese
Caselle Torinese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 14 km northwest of Turin, on the left bank of the Stura di Lanzo.-External links:*...
, about 13 km (8 mi) from the centre of Turin and connected to the city by a railway service (from Dora Station) and a bus service (from Porta Nuova and Porta Susa railway stations).
Notable natives
- Luisa AccatiLuisa AccatiLuisa Accati Levi is an Italian historian, anthropologist and feminist public intellectual. She currently teaches ethnology and modern history at the University of Trieste....
(born 1942), historian and social anthropologist. - Giovanni AgnelliGiovanni AgnelliGiovanni Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899.-Early life:The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in Villar Perosa, a small town near Pinerolo, Piedmont, still the main home and burial place of the Agnelli family...
(1866–1945), founder of FIATFiatFIAT, 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...
. - Edoardo Agnelli (1892–1935) industrialist, director of FIAT and Juventus F.C.Juventus F.C.Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
's president. - Gianni AgnelliGianni AgnelliGiovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
(1921–2003), influential chairman, director of FIAT and Juventus F.C. president. - Umberto AgnelliUmberto AgnelliUmberto Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football...
(1934–2004) industrialist, director of FIAT and Juventus F.C. president. - Giuliano AmatoGiuliano AmatoGiuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
(born 1938), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy. - Amedeo AvogadroAmedeo AvogadroLorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto was an Italian savant. He is most noted for his contributions to molecular theory, including what is known as Avogadro's law...
(1776–1856), physicistPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. - Alessandro BariccoAlessandro BariccoAlessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
(born 1958), writer. - Fred BuscaglioneFred BuscaglioneFerdinando "Fred" Buscaglione was an Italian singer and actor who became very popular in the late 1950s. His public persona – the character he played both in his songs and his movies – was of a humorous mobster with a penchant for whisky and women.-Biography:Ferdinando Buscaglione was born in...
(1921–1960), singer and songwriter. - Giuseppe Marc'Antonio BarettiGiuseppe Marc'Antonio BarettiGiuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti was an Italian-born English literary critic and author of two influential language-translation dictionaries...
(1719–1789), critic. - Camillo Benso, count of Cavour, politician (Italian unificationItalian unificationItalian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
). - Roberto BettegaRoberto BettegaRoberto Bettega is an Italian former footballer. Bettega was regarded as a player of noteworthy intelligence and at his prime was one of the most feared strikers . Bettega is mostly remembered for his time at his hometown club Juventus...
, former footballer and manager. - Norberto BobbioNorberto BobbioNorberto Bobbio was an Italian philosopher of law and political sciences and a historian of political thought. He also wrote regularly for the Turin-based daily La Stampa....
(1909–2004), historian and philosopher. - Giampiero BonipertiGiampiero BonipertiGiampiero Boniperti is an Italian former football player who played his entire career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961. He also played for the Italian national football team...
, former footballer and Juventus F.C.'s president. - Gian Vittorio Bourlot, co-founder of the A.L.A.I.Libreria antiquaria BourlotLibreria antiquaria Bourlot is an historic antiquarian bookshop in Turin, Italy. It was founded in 1848 by Vittorio and Pietro Bourlot in the courtyard of a seventeenth century palace at the Piazza San Carlo. It was owned by the Bourlot family for five generations. In 1947, owner Gian Vittorio...
(Associazione Librai Antiquari d'Italia) - Gianpiero Combi (1902–1956), former footballer. 1934 World Cup1934 FIFA World CupThe 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934....
champion. - Arturo BrachettiArturo BrachettiArturo Brachetti is an Italian quick-change artist. In the Guinness Book of Records 2006 and 2007, he is described as the fastest quick change artist in the world.-Biography:Brachetti was born in Turin...
(born 1957), quick-change artist. - Carla Bruni (born 1967), singer, model and wife of French president Nicolas SarkozyNicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
. - Pierre Paul CaffarelPierre Paul CaffarelPierre Paul Caffarel , Italian entrepreneur who created the chocolate company Caffarel.In 1826 Caffarel purchased a revolutionary industrial machine, invented by Bozelli of Genoa, which was able to produce more than 300 kilos a day...
(1795–1850), founder of the first chocolate factory in the world. - Giorgio CagnottoGiorgio CagnottoFranco Giorgio Cagnotto is a former diver from Italy, who competed in five consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1964....
, silver medalist Olympic diver - Antonio Benedetto CarpanoAntonio Benedetto CarpanoAntonio Benedetto Carpano was an Italian distiller, famous for having invented Vermouth and consequently the apéritif....
(1764–1815), inventor of vermouthVermouthVermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...
and apéritifAperitifApéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...
. - Leo ChiossoLeo ChiossoLeo Chiosso was an Italian lyricist mostly known for his work with Fred Buscaglione...
(1920–2006), lyricist, songwriter with Fred BuscaglioneFred BuscaglioneFerdinando "Fred" Buscaglione was an Italian singer and actor who became very popular in the late 1950s. His public persona – the character he played both in his songs and his movies – was of a humorous mobster with a penchant for whisky and women.-Biography:Ferdinando Buscaglione was born in...
. - Robert FanoRobert FanoRobert Mario Fano is an Italian-American computer scientist, currently professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fano is known principally for his work on information theory, inventing Shannon-Fano coding...
(1917–2004), engineer. - Galileo FerrarisGalileo FerrarisGalileo Ferraris was an Italian physicist and electrical engineer, noted mostly for the studies and independent discovery of the rotating magnetic field, a basic working principle of the induction motor...
(1847–1897), physicist and electrical engineer. - Lorenzo FerreroLorenzo FerreroLorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer with a predilection for opera, a librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and wrote over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo...
(born 1951), composer - Piero GobettiPiero GobettiPiero Gobetti was an Italian journalist, intellectual and radical liberal and anti-fascist. He was an exceptionally active campaigner and critic in the crisis years in Italy after the First World War and into the early years of Fascist rule.-Biography:...
(1901–1926), intellectual. - Joseph Louis LagrangeJoseph Louis LagrangeJoseph-Louis Lagrange , born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, was a mathematician and astronomer, who was born in Turin, Piedmont, lived part of his life in Prussia and part in France, making significant contributions to all fields of analysis, to number theory, and to classical and celestial mechanics...
(1736–1813), mathematician. - Vincenzo LanciaVincenzo LanciaVincenzo Lancia was an Italian pilot, engineer and founder of Lancia.Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin...
(1881–1937), sportsman and businessman, founder of LanciaLanciaLancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
. - Luigi LavazzaLuigi LavazzaLuigi Lavazza was an Italian businessman. He was the founder, in 1895, of the Lavazza coffee company in Turin.-Biography:Lavazza was born in Murisengo, a small city in the province of Turin ....
(1859–1949), inventor and coffee businessman. - Carlo LeviCarlo LeviDr. Carlo Levi was an Italian-Jewish painter, writer, activist, anti-fascist, and doctor.He is best known for his book Cristo si è fermato a Eboli , published in 1945, a memoir of his time spent in exile in Lucania, Italy, after being arrested in connection with his political activism...
(1902–1975), painter and writer. - Primo LeviPrimo LeviPrimo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
(1919–1987), chemist, philosopher, HolocaustThe HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor and writer. - Salvador Edward Luria (1912–1991), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- Alessandro MartiniAlessandro MartiniAlessandro Martini was an Italian businessman, founder of one of the most important vermouth companies in the world, Martini & Rossi, which produces the Martini vermouth....
(1812–1905), vermouth businessman. - Mau MauMau Mau (band)Mau Mau is an Italian band from Turin. It was formed in 1991 as a continuation of the underground cult group I Loschi Dezi.- Biography :...
(formed 1991), rock band. - Davide RossiDavide RossiDavide Francesco Rossi , is a violinist, string arranger, composer and a record producer, perhaps best known for being the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music group Goldfrapp, and for his large contribution of electric violin parts and for all the string...
(1970) violinist, composer, string arranger (GoldfrappGoldfrappGoldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
, ColdplayColdplayColdplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, The VerveThe VerveThe Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
). - Carlo MollinoCarlo Mollino- Biography :Born in Turin, Piedmont, Carlo Mollino was the son of Eugenio Mollino, an engineer. As he grew up, Carlo Mollino became interested in a variety of topics that were as outrageous as his art, such as design, architecture, the occult, and race cars....
(1905–1973), architect and designer. - Rita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-Montalcini , Knight Grand Cross is an Italian neurologist who, together with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of nerve growth factor...
(1909), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. - Adriano OlivettiAdriano OlivettiAdriano Olivetti was an Italian entrepreneur, the son of the founder of Olivetti, Camillo Olivetti....
(1901–1960), businessman. - Raffaele PalmaRaffaele PalmaRaffaele Palma is one of the most eclectic Italian satirical artists, and humorists.The holder of the Premio Satira Politica Forte dei Marmi a prize for Political Satire in the sculpture section of a national competition held in Tuscany, he has also organised numerous exhibitions himself in...
(1953), writer, disegner, humorist, satirist. - Carlo ParolaCarlo ParolaCarlo Parola , was an Italian football player and coach, from Turin. He is most famous for his time with Juventus with whom he played over 300 games with, he also had brief spells with Lazio and Midland in Argentina before going into management.He is also famous for being the author of one of the...
(1921–2000), former footballer. He's considered to be one of the inventors of the bicycle kickBicycle kickA Bicycle kick or Scissor kick is a physical move made by throwing the body up into the air, making a shearing movement with the legs to get one leg in front of the other without holding on to the ground. The move can either be done backwards or sideways...
in Italy. - Rita PavoneRita PavoneRita Pavone is an Italian ballad and rock singer who enjoyed success through the 1960s. Pavone is also an actress.-Singing career:...
(1945), singer - Giuseppe PeanoGiuseppe PeanoGiuseppe Peano was an Italian mathematician, whose work was of philosophical value. The author of over 200 books and papers, he was a founder of mathematical logic and set theory, to which he contributed much notation. The standard axiomatization of the natural numbers is named the Peano axioms in...
(1858–1932), mathematician. - Aurelio PecceiAurelio PecceiAurelio Peccei was an Italian scholar and industrialist, best known as the founder and first president of the Club of Rome.- Early life :...
(1908–1984), founder of the Club of RomeClub of RomeThe Club of Rome is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. Founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy, the CoR describes itself as "a group of world citizens, sharing a common concern for the future of humanity." It consists of current and...
. - Gigi D'AgostinoGigi D'AgostinoLuigino Celestino Di Agostino , better known by his stage name Gigi D'Agostino, is an Italian DJ, remixer and record producer...
, composer, singer, DJ & public icon for "Lento ViolentoLento ViolentoLento Violento is a style of electronic dance music that developed in Italy. Its name means Slow & Violent, as this style typically has a tempo between 70 and 120 BPM...
". - Gabry PonteGabry PonteGabriele "Gabry" Ponte is an Italian DJ best known for his membership in the Italian dance group Eiffel 65. Ponte has been involved with the Bliss Team, DJ Gundam, and Sangwara...
, DJ member of Eiffel 65Eiffel 65Eiffel 65 is an Italian three-piece group formed in the late 1990s and best known for pioneering in pitch-correction and autotune, and for their international hit "Blue ". Their other hit singles include "Move Your Body" and "Too Much of Heaven", all of which appeared on their album Europop,...
. - Vittorio PozzoVittorio PozzoVittorio Pozzo 21 December 1968) was an Italian football coach who was most famous for leading the Italian national team to victory in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and 1938 FIFA World Cups; managed the side that won the 1930 and 1935 editions of the Central European International Cup, as well as the...
(1886–1968), former Italian national football teamItaly national football teamThe Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
coach, 19341934 FIFA World CupThe 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934....
and 1938 FIFA World Cup1938 FIFA World CupThe 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
winner. - Tullio ReggeTullio ReggeTullio Regge is an Italian theoretical physicist. He obtained a degree in physics from the University of Turin in 1952, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester in 1957 under the direction of Robert Marshak. From 1958 to 1959 Regge held a post at the Max Planck Institute for...
(born 1931), physicist - Sofia ScalchiSofia ScalchiSofia Scalchi was an Italian operatic contralto who could also sing in the mezzo-soprano range. Her career was international, and she appeared at leading theatres in both Europe and America.-Singing career:...
(1850–1922), opera mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... - Piero SraffaPiero SraffaPiero Sraffa was an influential Italian economist whose book Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities is taken as founding the Neo-Ricardian school of Economics.- Early life :...
(1898–1983), economist. - SubsonicaSubsonicaSubsonica is an Italian rock band that was formed in 1996 in Turin. Their eponymous debut album debuted in the spring of 1997. The band gained real success in 2000 by playing the Sanremo Music Festival...
(formed 1996), rock band. - Francesco TamagnoFrancesco TamagnoFrancesco Tamagno was an operatic tenor from Italy who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America. On 5 February 1887, he cemented his place in musical history by creating the role of Otello in Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece of the same name...
(1850–1905), opera tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. - Massimo Taparelli, marquis d'Azeglio (1798–1866), statesman, novelist and painter.
- Umberto TozziUmberto TozziUmberto Antonio Tozzi is an Italian pop/rock singer and composer, born in Turin. His most internationally famous song is "Gloria" -Biography:...
(1952), singer. - Gianni VattimoGianni VattimoGianteresio Vattimo, also known as Gianni Vattimo is an internationally recognized Italian author, philosopher, and politician. Many of his works have been translated into English.-Biography:...
(1936), philosopher. - Victor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
(1820–1878), King of PiedmontPiedmontPiedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
and the first King of united Italy. - Marco TravaglioMarco TravaglioMarco Travaglio is an Italian investigative journalist, writer and commentator.-Biography:Travaglio was born in Turin. He started his career writing for Catholic publications such as Il nostro tempo , then worked for the renowned journalist Indro Montanelli for newspapers such as Il Giornale and...
(1964), journalist, writer. - Marco MaccariniMarco MaccariniMarco Maccarini is an Italian television personality known for presenting TRL Italy, the Italian version of Total Request Live broadcast by MTV Italia, and Festivalbar, broadcast by Mediaset’s Italia 1.-External links:...
(1976), TV presenter, actor.
Notable residents
- Edmondo de AmicisEdmondo De AmicisEdmondo De Amicis was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children's novel Heart.-Early career:...
(1846–1908), novelist, journalist, and short-story writer. - Alighiero BoettiAlighiero BoettiAlighiero Fabrizio Boetti known as Alighiero e Boetti was an Italian conceptual artist, considered to be a member of the art movement Arte Povera....
(1940–1994), artist. - St. Giovanni BoscoJohn BoscoJohn Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century, who put into practice the convictions of his religion, dedicating his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth and employing teaching methods...
(1815–1888), Catholic priest, educator and recognised pedagogue. - Francesco Faà di BrunoFrancesco Faà di BrunoFrancesco Faà di Bruno was an Italian mathematician and priest, born at Alessandria. He was of noble birth, and held, at one time, the rank of captain-of-staff in the Sardinian Army. He is the eponym of Faà di Bruno's formula...
(1825–1888), mathematician and priest. - Italo CalvinoItalo CalvinoItalo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
(1923–1985), journalist and writer. - Gaspare CampariGaspare CampariGaspare Campari was an Italian drink maker.Born in Cassolnovo, Lombardy, he was a master drink maker at the Bass Bar in Turin, the major commercial centre for aperitif products, by the age 14. His recipe contained more than 60 natural ingredients including herbs, spices, barks and fruit peels...
(1828), drink maker. - Igor Mishkovski (born 1981), scientist and social drinker.
- Felice CasoratiFelice CasoratiFelice Casorati was an Italian painter, sculptor, and printmaker. The paintings for which he is most noted include figure compositions, portraits and still lifes, which are often distinguished by unusual perspective effects.-Life and work:Casorati was born in Novara and showed an early interest in...
(1883–1963), painterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. - Francesco CirioFrancesco CirioFrancesco Cirio was an Italian businessman and the inventor of canned vegetables and meat. He was born in Nizza Monferrato, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, to a poor and illiterate family. When he was 14 years old he came to the capital of the kingdom, Turin...
(1836–1900), businessman. - Alessandro Del PieroAlessandro Del PieroAlessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus, of which he is also club captain....
(born 1974), footballer. - Renato DulbeccoRenato DulbeccoRenato Dulbecco is an Italian virologist who won a 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on reverse transcriptase. In 1973 he was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University together with Theodore Puck and Harry Eagle. Dulbecco was the recipient of the Selman A...
(born 1914), he won a 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
. - Umberto EcoUmberto EcoUmberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
(born 1932), medievalistMedievalismMedievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the Middle Ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.Since the 18th century, a...
, semioticianSemioticsSemiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
, philosopherPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, literary criticLiterary criticismLiterary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
and novelist. - Ludovico EinaudiLudovico EinaudiLudovico Einaudi OMRI is an Italian contemporary music composer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Turin, Italy, Einaudi's mother played to him on the piano as a child. He began his musical training at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, gaining a diploma in composition in 1982...
(born 1955), contemporary classical music composer and pianist. - Giulio EinaudiGiulio EinaudiGiulio Einaudi was one of the most important publishers in Italian history.-Biography:Giulio Einaudi was born in Dogliani in 1912, the son of Luigi Einaudi, future president of the Italian Republic, and his wife Ida.He attended the Massimo d'Azeglio liceo classico, and became a student of noted...
(1912–1999), publisherPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
. - Luigi EinaudiLuigi EinaudiLuigi Einaudi , Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone OMRI was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the second President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955.-Early life:...
(1874–1961), politician and economist. - Desiderius ErasmusDesiderius ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
(1466/1469-1536), Dutch humanistRenaissance humanismRenaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
and theologianTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. - Michele Ferrero (born 1925), founder of Ferrero and richest man in Italy (November 2009)
- Paolo FossatiPaolo FossatiPaolo Fossati was an Italian author, professor and art historian.Born in Arezzo from Teresa Negro and Pietro Fossati, he moved with the family to Turin where he finished his high school. He started studying law and ended getting a degree in Romance philological studies and literature at the...
(1938–1998), art historianArt historyArt history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, editor, writer, journalist, teacher,. - Guido FubiniGuido FubiniGuido Fubini was an Italian mathematician, known for Fubini's theorem and the Fubini–Study metric.Born in Venice, he was steered towards mathematics at an early age by his teachers and his father, who was himself a teacher of mathematics...
(1879–1942), mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. - Leone GinzburgLeone GinzburgLeone Ginzburg was an Italian editor, writer, journalist and teacher, as well as an important anti-fascist political activist and a hero of the resistance movement...
(1909–1944), editor, writer, journalist, teacher, anti-fascistAnti-fascismAnti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
. - Natalia GinzburgNatalia GinzburgNatalia Ginzburg née Levi was an award-winning Italian author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II, and philosophy. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, for which she received the Strega Prize and Bagutta Prize...
(1916–1991), writer. - Guido GozzanoGuido GozzanoGuido Gustavo Gozzano was an Italian poet and writer.-Biography:He was born in Turin, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Massimo D'Azeglio...
(1883–1916), writer and poet. - Antonio GramsciAntonio GramsciAntonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
(1891–1937), writer, politician and political theorist, founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of ItalyCommunist Party of ItalyThe Communist Party of Italy was a communist political party in Italy which existed from 1921 to 1926. That year it was outlawed by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. In 1943, the name was changed to the Italian Communist Party.-Foundation:The forerunner of the party was the Communist Faction...
. - Primo LeviPrimo LeviPrimo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
(1919–1987), chemist, philosopher, HolocaustThe HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor and writer. - Cesare LombrosoCesare LombrosoCesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso was an Italian criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature...
(1836–1909), criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist CriminologyItalian school of criminologyThe Italian school of criminology was founded at the end of the 19th century by Cesare Lombroso and two of his Italian disciples, Enrico Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo .- Lombroso's conception of the "atavistic born criminal" :...
. - Franco LucentiniFranco LucentiniFranco Lucentini was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies. His novel The Sunday Woman, which was also made into a film, 1976, with Marcello Mastroianni and Jacqueline Bisset.- Biography :...
(1920–2002), writer. - Claudio MagrisClaudio MagrisClaudio Magris is an Italian scholar, translator and writer.Magris graduated from the University of Turin, where he studied German studies, and has been a professor of modern German literature at the University of Trieste since 1978.He is an essayist and columnist for the Italian newspaper...
(born 1939) scholar, translator, writer and Italian senatorItalian SenateThe Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
. - Joseph de MaistreJoseph de MaistreJoseph-Marie, comte de Maistre was a French-speaking Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat. He defended hierarchical societies and a monarchical State in the period immediately following the French Revolution...
(1753–1821), French-speaking SavoySavoySavoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
ard lawyer, diplomat, writer, and philosopher. - Francesco MenzioFrancesco MenzioFrancesco Menzio , was an Italian painter.Francesco Menzio was born in Tempio Pausania, in Sardinia, from a Piedmontese family. He moved to Turin with his family in 1912 and started painting at the end of the First World War, in which he participated. He frequented the studio of Felice Casorati...
(1899–1979), painter. - Mario MerzMario MerzMario Merz was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz.-Life:Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the Giustizia e Libertà antifascist group. He experimented with a continuous graphic stroke–not removing his pencil point from...
(1925–2003), artist. - Giulio NattaGiulio NattaGiulio Natta was an Italian chemist and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high polymers.-Early years:...
(1903–1979), chemistChemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
, won a Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
in 1963. - Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
(1844–1900), German philosopherPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. - Vilfredo ParetoVilfredo ParetoVilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto , born Wilfried Fritz Pareto, was an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist and philosopher. He made several important contributions to economics, particularly in the study of income distribution and in the analysis of individuals' choices....
(1848–1923), French-Italian sociologistSociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, economist and philosopher. - Cesare PaveseCesare PaveseCesare Pavese was an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator; he is widely considered among the major authors of the 20th century in his home country.- Early life and education :...
(1908–1950), poet, novelist, literary critic and translator. - Michelangelo PistolettoMichelangelo PistolettoMichelangelo Pistoletto is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera...
(1933–present), artist, associated with Arte Povera. - Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
(1712–1778), French philosopher. - Emilio SalgariEmilio SalgariEmilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction.For over a century, his novels were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventures. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante. Today...
(1862–1911), writer. - Giovanni Virginio SchiaparelliGiovanni SchiaparelliGiovanni Virginio Schiaparelli was an Italian astronomer and science historian. He studied at the University of Turin and Berlin Observatory. In 1859-1860 he worked in Pulkovo Observatory and then worked for over forty years at Brera Observatory...
(14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) notable Italian astronomer - Ascanio Sobrero (1812–1888), chemistChemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
. - Germain SommeillerGermain SommeillerGermain Sommeiller was a civil engineer from Savoy. He directed the construction of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel between France and Italy, also known as the Mont Cenis Tunnel. This was the first of a series of major tunnels built in the late 19th century to connect northern and southern Europe through...
(1815–1871), civil engineerCivil engineeringCivil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. - Gianni VattimoGianni VattimoGianteresio Vattimo, also known as Gianni Vattimo is an internationally recognized Italian author, philosopher, and politician. Many of his works have been translated into English.-Biography:...
(born 1936), author, philosopher, and politician. - Elio VittoriniElio VittoriniElio Vittorini was an Italian writer and novelist. He was a contemporary of Cesare Pavese and an influential voice in the modernist school of novel writing. His best-known work is the anti-fascist novel Conversations in Sicily, for which he was jailed when it was published in 1941. The first U.S...
(1908–1966), writer and novelist.
Twin towns and sister cities
Turin is twinned with:
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Collaboration accords with: