Turin (Torino) Turin (Italian Torino) is a major industrial city in north-western Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the west bank of the Po River. The population of Turin city is 908,000 (2004 census), but with its metropolitan area totals about 1.7 million inhabitants. The province is one of the largest in Italy, with 6,830 sq. km, and one of the most populated, with 2,236,941 inhabitants at the 2004 census. Turin will be the host city of the 2006 Winter Olympics. History The name of Turin comes from Tau, a Celtic word that means mountains. The Italian name, Torino, happens to mean "little bull" in Italian, hence the coat of arms and the symbol of the city. The area was settled by the Taurini in pre-Roman times. In the first century B.C. (probably 28 B.C.), the Romans created a military camp (Castra Taurinorum), later dedicated to Augustus (Augusta Taurinorum). The typical Roman street plan with streets at right angles can still be seen in the modern city. The city 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, it was then ruled by the Bishops. At the end of the 13th century when it was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy the city counted already 20,000 inhabitants. Many of the actual garden and palaces were built in the 15th century when the city was redesigned, also the University was founded in this period. Emanuele Filiberto (Iron Head) made of Turin the capital of the Duchy of Savoy in 1563, piazza San Carlo, via Po and the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale) where built in this period. In 1706 the French sieged the city for 117 days without conquering it, after the following 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 capitol of an european kingdom, Turin had about 90,000 inhabitants at the time. In the 19th century, after brief occupation by Napoleon, the city began to actively pursue the unification of Italy, the Fréjus Tunnel was opened and made of Turin an important communication node. The city counts now 250,000 inhabitants, the Museo Egizio, the Mole Antonelliana, the Gran Madre church and Vittorio Veneto square were built in this period. Then in 1861 Turin became the capital of the newly proclaimed United Italy. In 1865 the capital was moved to Florence. Since 1870 the capital has been Rome. Turin reacted to the loss of importance beginning a rapid industrializzation, in 1899 FIAT was founded and Lancia in 1909, the Universal Exposition was held in Turin in 1911, the city had 430,000 inhabitants at the time. After WWI the conflicts between worker and industrialists began, the first strikes took place and in 1920 the Lingotto factory was occupied. After WWII Turin was rapidly rebuilt and its industries greatly developed, this caused waves of immigration mainly from the southern regions of Italy, the city population reached 1 million in 1960 and peaking at 1.5 millions in 1975. In the '80's the first industrial crisis hit the city and its population began to sink (and still is, while its metropolitan area is growing) reaching 908,000 inhabitants in 2005. Law and government Sergio Chiamparino currently serves as the mayor of Turin, who is elected directly by citizens every 5 years. He belongs to the center-left coalition. Geography Turin from the SatelliteTurin is located in north-west Italy. It's surrounded on the western and northern front by the Alps and on the southern front by the hills of Monferrato. Three major rivers pass through the city: the Po and two of its tributaries, the Dora Riparia (from the Celtic duria meaning "water," later changed to "Duria Minor" by the Romans), and the Stura di Lanzo and Sangone. Demographics The city of Turin grew by 0.88% in the last 3 years, which was attributed to a somewhat low birth rate, contributing to an aging population. Around 16.4% of the population are under 14 years over age, while those in retirement age number 18.8%. The city has seen a rise in immigrants, including the suburban areas. The population remains vastly Italian (96.1%), but there are sizeable numbers of other groups like Romanian: 2.3%, Moroccan: 1.5%, Peruvian: 0.5%, Albanian: 0.4%, and other groups. Economy Nowadays the city is a major industrial centre, known particularly as home to the headquarters and main production lines of the car company Fiat. The city is home to the famous Lingotto building, which was at one time the largest car factory in the world, and is now a convention centre, concert hall, art gallery, shopping centre and hotel. Other industries born in Turin are Invicta born in 1821, Lavazza, Martini, Kappa and the chocolate factory Caffarel. It is also a center for aerospace industry, with Alenia. Some major elements of the International Space Station, such as the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, have been 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 major aspects of Italian economy, such as telecommunications Telecom Italia, television (Rai, National TV channel) and cinema. Most of these industries have moved to other parts of Italy, but Turin still hosts the National Museum of Cinema. 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, part of it had long been planned. Some of the work sites deal with general improvements to car traffic, such as underpasses and flyovers. 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 town rail station on this line will become the main station of Turin ('Porta Susa'). The other major project is the construction of a metropolitan underground line based on the VAL system. This project is expected to continue for years and to cover a larger part of the town, but its first phase will finish in time for the Olympic Games and will link the nearby town of Collegno with the 'Porta Nuova' station in Turin's town centre. 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 and is now used as an underground car park. Sites of interest The Mole Antonelliana The Mole Antonelliana The Basilica di Superga near Turin The Basilica di Superga near Turin The church Monte dei Cappuccini The facade of Palazzo Carignano The Gran Madre Church from the Mole AntonellianaOne of its main symbols is the Mole Antonelliana, which hosts the National Cinema Museum of Italy. The Cathedral of St John the Baptist houses the Shroud of Turin, an old linen cloth with an imprint of a man, which is believed by many to be the cloth that covered Jesus in his grave. The Museo Egizio has the most important collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world after the Cairo Museum. Turin offers a circuit of great historical and architectural interest: the Savoy Residences. In addition to the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Savoys until 1865, the circuit includes palaces, residences and castles in the city centre and in the surrounding towns. Torino is home to Palazzo Chiablese, the Royal Armoury, the Royal Library, Palazzo Madama, Palazzo Carignano, Villa della Regina, and the Valentino Castle. In the area around the city, the castles of Rivoli, Moncalieri, Venaria, Agliè, Racconigi, and Govone can be visited. The Hunting Lodge by Juvarra can be admired in Stupinigi and there is also the royal estate in Pollenzo. Some of these (first and foremost Rivoli, the location of the Museum of the same name) host events, exhibitions and cultural initiatives not only of local interest. In 1997, this complex of historical buildings was recognised as a world heritage site by Unesco. In the hills above the city is the basilica church of Superga, from where there is a splendid panorama of Turin against a backdrop of the snow-capped Alps. Superga can be reached by means of the Superga Rack Railway from the suburb of Sassi. The city is also famous for being the film set of the 1969 classic film The Italian Job starring Michael Caine - it is possible to visit all the locations on a special tour - and Deep Red (1975), directed by Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento. Universities University of Turin (Università degli Studi di Torino) / http://www.unito.it/ Politecnico di Torino (Turin) / http://www.polito.it/ Istituto Europeo di Design (Turin) / http://www.ied.it/ Turin World Book Capital After Alexandria, Madrid, New Delhi, Antwerp and Montreal, Turin has been chosen by UNESCO as World Book Capital for the year 2006 because of its activity of book and reading promotion, especially with the International Book Fair, one of the most important fairs in Europe of its kind. From April 2006 to April 2007 Turin will host a festival called "Signs of Writing" composed of events, meetings, seminars, debates, letters, and performances. Sport The city is famous for its football teams (Juventus and Torino Calcio), and will host the 2006 Winter Olympics.Torino has also hosted two summer Universiade the first in 1959 and 1970 , in 2007 it will host our first Winter Universiade. In a terrible air accident in 1949, a plane carrying the whole Torino football team (at that time one of the most important in Italy) hit the church of Superga, on the Turin hills. Among those who lost their lives was Valentino Mazzola, father of Ferruccio and Sandro Mazzola (who were also later to be football champions). Turin was also the city were the FISA (international rowing federation) was born in 1892. Chocolate Turin is the birth place of solid chocolate. It was in Turin that Doret invented a revolutionary machine that could make solid chocolate as we eat it now at the end of the 18th century. Turin produces a typical chocolate, named Gianduiotto after Gianduia, a local Commedia dell'arte mask, and many other kinds of chocolate in a host of confectioneries all around the city. Nearby towns Turin is surrounded by several smaller cities in the Province of Turin such as Grugliasco, Rivoli, Chivasso, Venaria, Settimo Torinese, Orbassano, Moncalieri, Avigliana, Buttigliera Alta, Gassino Torinese, Nichelino, Collegno and others, that make up one of Italy's primary metropolitan areas. Region Piedmont Province Turin Area 130 km² (50 mi²) Population – Total (2004) – Density 862,000 6,630/km² Time zone CET: UTC+1 Coordinates 45°04'N 7°40'E1 External link: Città di Torino [edit] Notable natives