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 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. 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 "Lacapitale Sabauda".
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.
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.
Notable natives
Gianni Agnelli (1921-2003), chairman of Fiat 1966-2003.
Luisa Accati (born 1942), historian and social anthropologist.
Giovanni Agnelli (1866–1945), founder of FIAT.
Edoardo Agnelli (1892–1935) industrialist, director of FIAT and former Juventus president.
Gianni Agnelli (1921–2003), influential chairman, director of FIAT and former Juventus F.C. president.
Umberto Agnelli (1934–2004) industrialist, director of FIAT and former Juventus F.C. president.
Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy.
Amedeo Avogadro (1776–1856), physicist.
Alessandro Baricco (born 1958), writer.
Fred Buscaglione (1921–1960), singer and songwriter.
Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (1719–1789), critic.
Camillo Benso, count of Cavour, politician (Italian unification).
Roberto Bettega, former footballer.
Norberto Bobbio (1909–2004), historian and philosopher.
Giampiero Boniperti, former footballer and Juventus honourary president.
Gian Vittorio Bourlot, co-founder of the A.L.A.I. (Associazione Librai Antiquari d'Italia)
Gianpiero Combi (1902–1956), former footballer and 1934 World Cup winner.
Arturo Brachetti (born 1957), quick-change artist.
Carla Bruni (born 1967), singer, model and wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Pierre Paul Caffarel (1795–1850), founder of the first chocolate factory in the world.
Giorgio Cagnotto, silver medalist Olympic diver
Antonio Benedetto Carpano (1764–1815), inventor of vermouth and apéritif.
Giorgio Ceragioli (1930–2008), engineer and gandhian activist.
Leo Chiosso (1920–2006), lyricist, songwriter with Fred Buscaglione.
Robert Fano (1917–2004), engineer.
Galileo Ferraris (1847–1897), physicist and electrical engineer.
Lorenzo Ferrero (born 1951), composer
Piero Gobetti (1901–1926), intellectual.
Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736–1813), mathematician.
Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937), sportsman and businessman, founder of Lancia.
Luigi Lavazza (1859–1949), inventor and coffee businessman.
Carlo Levi (1902–1975), painter and writer.
Primo Levi (1919–1987), chemist, philosopher, Holocaust survivor and writer.
Salvador Edward Luria (1912–1991), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Alessandro Martini (1812–1905), vermouth businessman.
Mau Mau (formed 1991), rock band.
Davide Rossi (1970) violinist, composer, string arranger (Goldfrapp, Coldplay, The Verve).
Carlo Mollino (1905–1973), architect and designer.
Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Adriano Olivetti (1901–1960), businessman.
Raffaele Palma (1953), writer, disegner, humorist, satirist.
Carlo Parola (1921–2000), former footballer. He's considered to be one of the inventors of the bicycle kick in Italy.
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. 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 "Lacapitale Sabauda".
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.
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.
Notable natives
Gianni Agnelli (1921-2003), chairman of Fiat 1966-2003.
Luisa Accati (born 1942), historian and social anthropologist.
Giovanni Agnelli (1866–1945), founder of FIAT.
Edoardo Agnelli (1892–1935) industrialist, director of FIAT and former Juventus president.
Gianni Agnelli (1921–2003), influential chairman, director of FIAT and former Juventus F.C. president.
Umberto Agnelli (1934–2004) industrialist, director of FIAT and former Juventus F.C. president.
Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy.
Amedeo Avogadro (1776–1856), physicist.
Alessandro Baricco (born 1958), writer.
Fred Buscaglione (1921–1960), singer and songwriter.
Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (1719–1789), critic.
Camillo Benso, count of Cavour, politician (Italian unification).
Roberto Bettega, former footballer.
Norberto Bobbio (1909–2004), historian and philosopher.
Giampiero Boniperti, former footballer and Juventus honourary president.
Gian Vittorio Bourlot, co-founder of the A.L.A.I. (Associazione Librai Antiquari d'Italia)
Gianpiero Combi (1902–1956), former footballer and 1934 World Cup winner.
Arturo Brachetti (born 1957), quick-change artist.
Carla Bruni (born 1967), singer, model and wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Pierre Paul Caffarel (1795–1850), founder of the first chocolate factory in the world.
Giorgio Cagnotto, silver medalist Olympic diver
Antonio Benedetto Carpano (1764–1815), inventor of vermouth and apéritif.
Giorgio Ceragioli (1930–2008), engineer and gandhian activist.
Leo Chiosso (1920–2006), lyricist, songwriter with Fred Buscaglione.
Robert Fano (1917–2004), engineer.
Galileo Ferraris (1847–1897), physicist and electrical engineer.
Lorenzo Ferrero (born 1951), composer
Piero Gobetti (1901–1926), intellectual.
Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736–1813), mathematician.
Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937), sportsman and businessman, founder of Lancia.
Luigi Lavazza (1859–1949), inventor and coffee businessman.
Carlo Levi (1902–1975), painter and writer.
Primo Levi (1919–1987), chemist, philosopher, Holocaust survivor and writer.
Salvador Edward Luria (1912–1991), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Alessandro Martini (1812–1905), vermouth businessman.
Mau Mau (formed 1991), rock band.
Davide Rossi (1970) violinist, composer, string arranger (Goldfrapp, Coldplay, The Verve).
Carlo Mollino (1905–1973), architect and designer.
Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Adriano Olivetti (1901–1960), businessman.
Raffaele Palma (1953), writer, disegner, humorist, satirist.
Carlo Parola (1921–2000), former footballer. He's considered to be one of the inventors of the bicycle kick in Italy.
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