Pinerolo

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = Italy Pinerolo coat.png official_name = Comune di Pinerolo
name = Pinerolo
mapx =44.97
mapy=7.34
region = Piedmont
province = Turin (TO)
elevation_m = 376
area_total_km2 = 50
population_as_of = December 31, 2004
population_total = 34264
population_density_km2 = 665
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|44|53|N|07|20|E
frazioni = Abbadia Alpina, Baudenasca, Riva di Pinerolo, Talucco
telephone = 0121
postalcode = 10064
gentilic = Pinerolesi
saint = San Donato
day = Monday after last Sunday of August
mayor = Paolo Covato
website = [http://www.comune.pinerolo.to.it www.comune.pinerolo.to.it]

Pinerolo is a town and commune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone.

History

In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance was the origin of the well-known military school that still exists today. The fortress of Fenestrelle is nearby.

The earliest mention of Pinerolo is in the tenth century, when it belonged to the March of Turin and was governed by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina , even after the city had established itself as a municipality (1247) under the government of Thomas Savoy. From 1235, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which became absolute in 1243, and was continued thereafter either by the house of Savoy, or of Savoy-Acaia. When French troops invaded Piedmont (1536), Pinerolo was conquered and it remained under their control until 1574.

With the treaty of Cherasco it again fell to France (1631), and it remained under French rule until restored to the house of Savoy by the treaty of Turin, at the same time withdrawing from the league against Louis XIV.

Main sights

*the "Cathedral" dates from the 9th century, and has an attractive bell tower
*church of "San Maurizio", in Gothic style.

Notable Pinerolesi

People born in Pinerolo include:
* Lidia Poët (born 1855), the first Italian female lawyer and an important figure in female emancipation
* Luigi Facta (1861 – 1930), politician, journalist and last Prime Minister of Italy before the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini
* Ferruccio Parri (1890 – 1981), partisan and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy for several months in 1945

Trivia

*It hosted Curling events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
*The "Man in the Iron Mask" was imprisoned in Pinerolo.
*The Montevideo football team Peñarol takes its name from this town.
*The Marquis of Belle-Ile was imprisoned in Pinerol.

Twin cities

*flagicon|France Gap, France, since 1963
*flagicon|Germany Traunstein, Germany, since 1986
*flagicon|Argentina San Francisco, Argentina, since 1996
*flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2005

ee also

* Diocese of Pinerolo