Turin

Turin

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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

Location of Turin in Italy

Coordinates: 45°04′N 07°42′ECoordinates: 45°04′N 07°42′E

Country           Italy

Region Piedmont

Province          Turin (TO)

Government

 - Mayor          Sergio Chiamparino (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 major city which is a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River 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 OECD to have a population of 2.2 million.[2]

Turin is a flourishing, industrial, and cosmopolitan[citation needed]European city, which enjoys state-of-the-art technology and architectural developments.[3][4][unreliable source?]The city has a rich culture and history, and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, operahouses, 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.[5] 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.[6] The city currently hosts some of Italy's best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the Polytechnic University of Turin. Prestigious and important museums, such as the Museo Egizio[7] 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.[8]

Turin 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.[9] 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.[10] With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power,[11][12] and even though the city was unable to become a "world city", like Milan and Rome, it was ranked by GaWC as "economically efficient", along with Jerusalem, Genoa, Macau, Marseille, Liverpool, Strasbourg, Salt Lake City, Seville and Tijuana, to name a few.[13] Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry.[14][15]

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 a unified Italy.[16]

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 [hide]

1 History

1.1 Roman times

1.2 Middle Ages

1.3 16th–18th century

1.4 19th century

1.5 20th century

1.6 21st century

2 Geography

2.1 Climate

3 Administration

4 Cityscape

4.1 Architecture

4.2 Villas, parks and gardens

5 Demographics

6 Economy

7 Culture

7.1 Tourism

7.2 Literature

7.3 Media

7.4 Sports

7.5 Cinema

7.6 Cuisine

8 Education

9 Transport

10 Notable natives

11 Notable residents

12 International relations

12.1 Twin towns and sister cities

13 Gallery

14 References

14.1 Notes

15 External links

[edit]History

The Roman Palatine Towers.

[edit]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. Turin reached about 5,000 inhabitants at the time, all living inside the high walls.

[edit]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 (or 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.

[edit]16th–18th century

Turin in 1674.

Emmanuel Philibert (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 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, through the regular street grid, Piazza Castello with the bridge on the Po.

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.

[edit]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 Egyptian Museum, the Mole Antonelliana, 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.[17] 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 in 1906. The Universal Exposition held in Turin in 1902 is often considered the pinnacle of Art Nouveau design, and the city hosted the Exposition again in 1911. By this time, Turin had grown to 430,000 inhabitants.

[edit]20th century

The Olympic Arch erected for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

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 center 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, the place were already free from German presence, whose had retreat after the success of allied offensive and the general insurrection of Italian Partisans that had began on 25 April 1945. Days later troops of Us 1st armored division and US 92nd division came to substitute the Brazilian ones.[18][19]

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 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.

[edit]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.

[edit]Geography

Turin with Alps, view from Superga hill

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.

[edit]Climate

Turin is located in a Humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen climate classification Cfa),[20] 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.[21]