| Official Name: | Comune di Torino |
| Established Title: | Roman foundation |
| Established Date: | 28 BC |
| Nickname: | "Automobile Capital" |
| Website: | www.comune.torino.it |
| Frazioni: | Villaretto |
| Football Team: | Torino FC |
| Turin | |
| Mapx: | 45.11 |
| Mapy: | 7.73 |
| Gentilic: | Torinesi |
| Region: | Piedmont |
| Province: | Turin (TO) |
| Mayor: | Sergio Chiamparino |
| Area Total Km2: | 130.17 |
| Population As Of: | 2008[1] |
| Population Total: | 910437 |
| Population Density Km2: | 6980 |
| Population Urban: | 1745221 |
| Area Urban Km2: | 140.7 |
| Area Urban Sq Mi: | 251 |
| Population Metro: | 2215000 |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Latd: | 45 |
| Latm: | 04 |
| Latns: | N |
| Longd: | 07 |
| Longm: | 40 |
| Longew: | E |
| Elevation M: | 240 |
| Postalcode: | 10100 |
| Telephone: | 011 |
| Saint: | John the Baptist |
| Day: | june 24 |
Turin (Italian: Torino; Piedmontese: Turin; ) is a major city as well as 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 of Turin is 910,437 (June 2008); its agglomeration totals 1.7 million inhabitants, ranking fourth in Italy, while its metropolitan area has a population of 2.2 million inhabitants [2] . It is ranked third, after Rome and Milan, for economic strength[3] .
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 host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. 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.[4] 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) città Sabauda".
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.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the city was conquered by the Lombards, then the Franks of Charlemagne (773); in the 940s the Contea di Torino (or countship) was founded, until 1050 held by the Arudinic dynasty and then, after the marriage of Adelaide of Susa with Humbert Biancamano's son Otto, by the family of the Counts of Savoy. 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 thirteenth 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.
Emanuele Filiberto (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 XVII 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.
In the nineteenth century, after brief occupation by Napoleon, the city began to actively pursue the unification of Italy. In 1871, the Fréjus Tunnel was opened, making Turin an important communication node. The city now had 250,000 inhabitants. The Museo Egizio, the Mole Antonelliana, the Gran Madre church and Vittorio Veneto square 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 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.
After World War I, conflicts between workers and industrialists began. The first strikes took place and in 1920 the Lingotto factory was occupied.
After World War II, Turin was rapidly rebuilt and its industries greatly developed, which caused waves of immigration, largely from the southern regions of Italy. The population reached 1 million in 1960 and peaked at almost 1.2 million in 1971. In the 1980s, the first industrial crisis hit the city and its population began to decline (and continues to, while the metropolitan area grows). The 2008 population was 910,000.
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's 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 has a continental climate, unlike most of Italy which is famous for its comfortable Mediterranean climate. 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.[5]
For a complete list of Turin's landmarks, see: Buildings and structures in Turin
The symbol of Turin is the Mole Antonelliana. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. Construction began in 1863 as as a Jewish synagogue. Nowadays it houses the National Museum of Cinema, and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world.
The Palatine Towers is 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.
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.
The Egyptian Museum of Turin is specialized in Art of Ancient Egypt, archaelogy and anthropology. 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.[6]
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 in 1997 a World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Its gardens include the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino, a historic botanical garden.
In the hills overlooking the city is the basilica church of Superga, providing 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 city proper in 2006, had a population of about 910,000, a significant growth on the 2001 census figure. This result is due to a growing immigration form Southern Italy and abroad. Approximately a 5.77 percent of the population is composed of foreigners, the largest numbers coming from Romania: (44,158), Morocco: (22,511), Albania: (9,165), Peru: (7,044), China: (5,483), and Moldova: (3,417).http://demo.istat.it/str2006/index.html. 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.http://demo.istat.it/pop2007/index.html. The population of the city of Turin is 910,437 (June 2008); its urban area totals 1.7 million inhabitants, ranking fourth in Italy, while its metropolitan area has a population of 2.2 million inhabitants [7] .
Today the city is a major industrial center, where the headquarters of the car company FIAT are located. The city 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, an art gallery, a shopping centre and a hotel. Other companies founded in Turin are Lancia, Pininfarina, Bertone, Sparco, Italdesign, Ghia, Fioravanti, Stola, Intesa Sanpaolo, Superga, Invicta (1821), Lavazza, Martini & Rossi, Kappa and the chocolate factory Caffarel.
The city is also well known for its aerospace industry (Alenia). The Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules for the International Space Station 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), Rai (television), and cinema. Most of these industries have since moved their headquarters to other parts of Italy, but Turin still retains the National Museum of Cinema (in the Mole Antonelliana building).
See also: List of mayors of Turin. The mayor of Turin is directly elected every four years. Sergio Chiamparino, the current mayor, belongs to the center-left coalition.
Turin is divided into 10 municipal districts. These do not necessarily correspond to historical districts in the city.
The following lists the historical districts included in the Municipal districts (named Circoscrizioni).
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 and Metro.RAI has had a production centre in Turin since 1954.
The city is famous for two football teams: Juventus F.C. (founded 1897), and Torino F.C. (founded 1906). These squads play in the oldest derby in Italy: the Derby della Mole or Derby of Torino.[8] Juventus is Italy's most successful team, and one of the most prestigious[9] and successful in the world.[8] The torinese side, world's sixth club with the most official international titles,[10] was the first team in football history[11] -and only at present- to have won all official international championships and cups for clubs[12] recognized by one of the six regional confederations (UEFA[13] in this case) and by FIFA.[11] In 1949, a plane carrying the whole Torino F.C. team (at that time the most important in Italy and known as the Grande Torino) Superga air disaster hit the back side of the Basilica of Superga, in the Turin hills. Valentino Mazzola, father of Ferruccio and Sandro Mazzola (who were later to become football champions) was among those who perished in the crash.The C.U.S. Torino volleyball team won 4 times the domestic league and, in season 1979/80 the Volleyball European Champion's Cup. It was the first team from western Europe to win this competition. In the 1990s, the team had been dismantled due to economical issues.Turin was the city where the FISA (international rowing federation) was born in 1892. It hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Turin is the birth place of solid chocolate. It was in Turin that, at the end of the 18th century, Mr. Doret invented a revolutionary machine that could make solid chocolate (as opposed to drinking chocolate). Turin chocolate firms produce a typical chocolate, called Gianduiotto, named after Gianduja, a local Commedia dell'arte mask; plus many other kinds of chocolate. Every year the town organizes 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.
See also: Gruppo Torinese Trasporti. The town 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.
One is the Spina ("spine") which includes the doubling of a major railroad crossing the town. The railroad previously ran in a trench, which will now be covered by a major boulevard. The Porta Susa on this section will become Turin's main 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 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 railway station in Turin's town centre; on 4 October 2007 the line was extended to Porta Nuova railway station. This underground transportation project has historical importance for Turin, as the town has dreamed of an underground line for decades, the first project dating as far back as the twenties. In fact, 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 is now used as an underground car park. A project to build an underground system was ready in the seventies, with government funding for it and for similar projects in Milan and Rome; whilst the other two cities went ahead with the projects, Turin local government led by mayor Diego Novelli shelved the proposal as it believed it to be too costly and unnecessary, but that only meant more funding for Rome and Milan.
The city has an international airport known as Caselle International Airport Sandro Pertini (TRN), located few kilometres from downtown and connected to the city by a railway service (from Dora Station) and a bus service (from Porta Nuova and Porta Susa railway stations).
See main article: List of people associated with Turin.
Twin cities:
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