Turin

Turin
For other uses, see Turin (disambiguation).
"Torino" redirects here. For other uses, see Torino (disambiguation).
Turin
Torino
—  Comune  —
Comune di Torino
A collage of Turin: in the top left is the Mole Antonelliana, followed by a view of the city under the snow, the Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the Royal Palace of Turin and the Museo del Risorgimento (Palazzo Carignano)

Coat of arms
Turin is located in Italy
Turin
Location of Turin in Italy
Coordinates: 45°04′N 07°42′E / 45.067°N 7.7°E / 45.067; 7.7Coordinates: 45°04′N 07°42′E / 45.067°N 7.7°E / 45.067; 7.7
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Province Turin (TO)
Government
 – Mayor Piero Fassino (Democratic Party)
Area
 – Total 130.17 km2 (50.3 sq mi)
Elevation 239 m (784 ft)
Population (30 April 2009)[1]
 – Total 910,188
 – Density 6,992.3/km2 (18,110/sq mi)
Demonym Torinesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 10100, 10121-10156
Dialing code 011
Patron saint John the Baptist
Saint day 24 June
Website Official website

Turin (Italian: Torino, pronounced [toˈriːno] ( listen); Piedmontese: Turin, pronounced [tyˈɾiŋ]) 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.[2]

The city has a rich culture and history, and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera houses, piazzas, 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 squares, 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.[3] 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.[4] 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[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power,[9][10] and as of 2010 has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma- world city.[11] Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry.[12][13]

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.[14]

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".

Contents

History

The Roman Palatine Towers

Roman times

In the first century BC, probably 28 BC, the Romans created a military camp (Castra Taurinorum), later dedicated to Augustus (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 Empire, 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.

16th–18th century

Turin in 1674

Emmanuel Philibert, 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.

19th century

A view of Turin in the late 19th century. In the background, the Mole Antonelliana under construction.

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.[15] 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.

20th century

After World War I, conflicts between workers and industrialists began. The first strikes took place and in 1920 the Lingotto 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 landing in southern Italy and pushing northward the fascist and nazist forces. Turin was not captured by the Allies until the end of Spring Offensive of 1945, and even so 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 having 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 United States army's 1st Armored Division and 92nd Infantry Division came to substitute the Brazilian ones.[16][17]

The Olympic Arch erected for the 2006 Winter Olympics

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 Games.

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. 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.

Climate

Turin with Alps - view from Superga hill

Turin is located in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen climate classification Cfa),[18] 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[19] 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.

Climate data for Torino (Caselle Airport, 1961-1990)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.8
(42.4)		 8.4
(47.1)		 12.7
(54.9)		 16.6
(61.9)		 20.7
(69.3)		 24.7
(76.5)		 27.6
(81.7)		 26.5
(79.7)		 23.1
(73.6)		 17.3
(63.1)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.9
(44.4)		 16.8
Average low °C (°F) −3.3
(26.1)		 −1.1
(30.0)		 2.1
(35.8)		 5.6
(42.1)		 9.9
(49.8)		 13.8
(56.8)		 16.3
(61.3)		 15.7
(60.3)		 12.6
(54.7)		 7.2
(45.0)		 1.8
(35.2)		 −2.3
(27.9)		 6.5
Precipitation mm (inches) 40.5
(1.594)		 52.5
(2.067)		 76.9
(3.028)		 104.1
(4.098)		 120.3
(4.736)		 97.6
(3.843)		 66.6
(2.622)		 79.8
(3.142)		 70.1
(2.76)		 88.9
(3.5)		 75.5
(2.972)		 41.6
(1.638)		 914.4
(36)
% humidity 75 75 67 72 75 74 72 73 75 79 80 80 74.8
Avg. precipitation days 4.4 5.2 7.0 8.4 10.4 8.7 5.9 7.2 6.0 5.8 6.8 4.1 79.9
Sunshine hours 111.6 118.7 158.1 180.0 195.3 219.0 260.4 223.2 168.0 142.6 105.0 108.5 1,990.4
Source: Italian Air Force Meteorological Service [20]


Administration

Turin City Hall
Composition of the City Council
Party Members
PD 16
PDL 7
SEL and IDV 2
LN 3
See also: List of mayors of Turin

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: Aurora – Vanchiglia – Sassi – Madonna del Pilone
  • Circoscrizione 8: San Salvario – Cavoretto – Borgo Po
  • Circoscrizione 9: Nizza Millefonti – Lingotto – Filadelfia
  • Circoscrizione 10: Mirafiori Sud

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.

Main sights

Architecture

See also: Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
The Mole Antonelliana, symbol of Turin

The symbol of Turin is the Mole Antonelliana, 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 gates, 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.[21]

Villas, parks and gardens

The most popular park in the city is The Parco del Valentino. In 1961, for the celebrations of Italia61 (Italian unification 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.[22] 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.[23][24]

  • Borgo Medievale in the Parco del Valentino

  • Villa della Regina (Villa of the Queen)

  • Rosa Vercellana Mausoleum

  • View of the Po in Turin

Demographics

Historical populations
Year Pop. ±%
1861 173,305 —
1871 210,873 +21.7%
1881 250,655 +18.9%
1901 329,691 +31.5%
1911 415,667 +26.1%
1921 499,823 +20.2%
1931 590,753 +18.2%
1936 629,115 +6.5%
1951 719,300 +14.3%
1961 1,025,822 +42.6%
1971 1,167,968 +13.9%
1981 1,117,154 −4.4%
1991 962,507 −13.8%
2001 865,263 −10.1%
2009 910,188 +5.2%
Source: ISTAT 2001

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 Romania (51,017), Morocco (22,511), Albania (9,165), Peru (7,044), China (5,483), and Moldova (3,417).[25] 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.[26] 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.[2]

Economy

Main article: Economy of Turin
Fiat 500 presentation in Turin

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.[9][10] The city has been ranked in 2010 by GaWC as a Gamma-world city, alongside cities such as Belfast, Marseilles, Ottawa, Ljubljana and Tallinn.[11]

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.

Culture

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Turin piazza costello.JPG
The Royal Palace of Turin in Piazza Castello
Country Italy
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iv, v
Reference 823
Region ** Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 1997 (21st Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List
** Region as classified by UNESCO

Tourism

Turin, as the former capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, 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 Sites 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.[6]

The inside of the Egyptian Museum, one of Europe's largest.
Turin Shroud (full length negative)

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.[27] The Museum of Oriental Art houses one of the most important Asian art collections in Italy.[28][29]

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.

Literature

Primo Levi

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 I. 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.

Media

Main article: List of radio stations in Turin

After Alexandria, 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.

Sports

The city is home to two football teams: Juventus F.C. (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.[30]

Juventus is Italy's most successful football club and one of the most laureated and important in the world.[31] It ranks joint seventh in the list of the world's clubs with the most official international titles (fourth between European clubs).[32] The club was Italy's most successful of the 20th century[33] 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.[34][35][36][37] 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,[38] was the largest city to have ever hosted a Winter Olympics.[39][40] The title fell to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, (2.5 million) when that city hosted the XXI Olympic Winter Games.[41]

The FISA (International Rowing Federation) was founded in Turin in 1892.

Turin is also the home of the Valentino Park motor racing circuit.

Cinema

1914 Cabiria original poster

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 cinema 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.[42]

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 blockbusters 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.[43] 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,[44] 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.

The iconic Gianduiotto

Cuisine

Turin chocolate firms, aside from many kinds of chocolate, produce a typical chocolate 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.

Education

University of Turin: the Rectorate.
Main page: Education in Turin

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 schools 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).

Transports

See also: Gruppo Torinese Trasporti

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 Olympics, 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.

Map of Turin Metro

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.

Turin tramcar

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).

Notable natives

Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour (1810–1861), the first Prime Minister of Italy

Notable residents

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philosopher
Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), writer, politician and political theorist, founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy
Umberto Eco (born 1932), medievalist, semiotician, philosopher, literary critic and novelist
Main article: List of people associated with Turin

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

Twin towns and sister cities

Turin is twinned with:[48]

Collaboration accords with

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