Baroque, Museums, Industry

Turin, the capital of the Province of Piedmont, is situated on the western edge of the Padana Plain, between the Po hills and the Alps, where the Doria Riparia and Po Rivers converge.
Turin is the fourth most popular city in Italy, after Rome, Milan and Naples. An important economic center, its main industry is automobiles (80% of Italy’s entire production), along with subsidiary industries like steel and metal working, and motors for aeronautical and naval industries.

Superb Baroque architecture, excellent museums and the futuristic Antonelliana Mole, in the home of the famous Turin Shroud and The FIAT company

Historical Background

Augusta Taurinorum was a Roman city from the 11th Augustan region (Transpadana) in the Taurini territory. It acquired notable importance thanks to its geographically central location in the sub-alpine region.
Later it became a Lungobard duchy and a Frankish county. The Savoy asserted their power from the 13th century onward. In 1563, Turin became their State capital. At that time, the city’s transformation began and it assumed its characteristic Baroque stamp. Subsequently, Turin was dominated by the French, until 1814, when it was again under Savoy rule. From then on the city became the center of the Italian Risorgimento and had the privilege of being the first capital of Italy (1861-1865).

Art and Culture
Still remaining from the ancient Roman city is the Porta Palatina, which has four "fornice" (openings with arches above) between two octagonal towers, one on each side. The western Porta Praetoria towers are incorporated within the Madama Palace.
From the Romanesque period, the Belltower of Sant’Andrea, now called the Belltower of the Consulate, is still preserved.
The only piece of Gothic architecture left is the San Domenico Church, with frescoes in the trans-alpine painting style.
The Renaissance reached Turin at the end of the 15th century with the construction of the Duomo. Tuscan in form, it shows both the Lombard influence both in its sculpture and in the pictorial current that substitutes for the international Gothic taste, widespread in the Piedmont region.
In the mid-1500’s, Emanuele Filiberto commissioned Francesco Paciotto to build the new Citadel. Under Carlo Emanuele I, Vitozzi planned Piazza Castello and traced the Via Nuovo (Via Roma) beyond the Roman walls, also furnishing the model for the facades of buildings that stood alongside. Castellamonte continued the work of Vitozzi, extending the Via Nuova and planning Piazza San Carlo.

In the 1600’s, Guarini brought the Baroque experience to Turin, thus beginning a new period of development. Among the works by Guarini are the Chapel of S. Sindone (Holy Shroud), the Church of San Lorenzo, the Carignano Palace and the Palace of the Academy of Sciences.
Painting was not a focus in Turin in the 1600’s, because it was dominated by Lombard accents. The architect Juvara worked in the 1700’s, designing the façade of Madama Palace, the Basilica of Superga, the Church of the Carmine, Santa Croce and San Filippo, the Martini di Cigala Palaces and the Stupinigi Villa. In the 1800’s the city grew towards the Po and towards the present-day railway station. The Piazza Vittorio Veneto was planned. In the second half of the century, Via Pietro Micca was opened up in the center of Turin, and almost all the piazzas and gardens were decorated with monuments.
The major constructions of the 1900’s were the stadium, by Bianchi, Fagnoni and Ortensi (1933) and the Salon of the Automobile, which contains several buildings.

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