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Turin
Turin 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
populous, with 2,236,941 inhabitants at the 2004 census
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 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; 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
already had 20,000 inhabitants. Many of the garden and palaces were
built in the 15th century when the city was redesigned; the University
was also founded during this period.
Emanuele Filiberto (Iron Head) made Turin the capital of the Duchy of
Savoy in 1563. Piazza San Carlo, via Po and the Royal Palace (Palazzo
Reale) were built in this period.
In 1706 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 capitol of a 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 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 1870 the capital has
been Rome.) Turin reacted to the loss of importance, beginning a rapid
industrialization: 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, which caused waves of immigration mainly from the southern
regions of Italy. The population reached 1 million in 1960 and peaked at
1.5 millions in 1975. In the '80's the first industrial crisis hit the
city and its population began to decline (and continues to, while the
metropolitan area grows). The 2005 population is 908,000.
Transportation Infrastructure
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 improvements to car traffic, 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 town rail station on
this line will become the main station of Turin ('Porta Susa').
The other major project is the construction of a subway 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 was finished in
time for the Olympic Games (inaugurated on 4 February 2006 and opened to
the public the day after). This first leg of the subway system links the
nearby town of Collegno with the 'Porta Susa' station in Turin's town
centre; the next leg extending the service to the 'Porta Nuova' railway
station is expected by June 2007. 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 gorvernment lead by major 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.
Sites of interest
One 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.
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.
Wikipedia.org
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