Main > Survival Guide > Turin

Down the centuries, Turin has been a milestone in the European cultural journey, inspiring famous writers to produce some of their most memorable pages.
Turin is less well known than it deserves because it has never attempted to show off. Ostentation is in no way a typical quality of the notoriously reserved Turinese. Anyone who visits the city, though, after an initial sense of surprise, falls in love with the place and feels a strong urge to return.
Turin, whose history goes back over 2,000 years, was a capital for three centuries. It can offer tourists everything from history, art and music to natural beauty and fine cuisine. And, in no more than an hour or so, it is possible to drive down to the seaside, up into the mountains and out to beautiful countryside and picturesque lakes.
The itineraries that follow allow you to discover some of the city's treasures together. But if you are moving about on your own, devoting the city the time it deserves, you'll soon find out what a nuggety goldmine of a place it really is.

When, in 218 BC, Hannibal decided to surprise the Romans by choosing to enter Italy by the backdoor - across the Alps - it is believed that he found the Taurini, tribes of Ligurian Celtic stock, already established in the hills of the area. It believed that he found the Taurini, tribes of Ligurian Celtic stock, already established in the hills of the area. It was at this point that Turin officially entered history. Roman historians in fact recount that it took Hannibal's highly organised army three days to destroy the village then known as Taurasia.
As the road to Gaul acquired importance for Rome, so the village's position at the confluence of the Eridanus (Po) and the Duria Minor (Dora Riparia) became increasingly strategic from the military and economic points of view. Latin sources speak of the existence of Julia Augusta Taurinorum in 69 AD, but we know that an important military garrison, or castrum, had existed on the site since the time of Julius Caesar.
For ancient Turin, the fall of the Roman Empire spelt ruin. It triggered a spate of barbarian invasions, followed by destruction and occupation. As a result, the towers of the Porta Palatina were inhabited first by Longobard Dukes, then by Frankish Counts.
It was only with Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy's arrival in Turin in 1562 that the city began to grow. The sovereign's decision to make Turin the capital of his Duchy was a decisive one for the development of the city. The first fortifications were built to defend the place from enemies who longed to conquer it, then great architects were called in to plan its expansion and design sumptuous baroque and rococo residences.
Development continued until the French Revolution. Then, with the advent of Napoleon Bonaparte, Carlo Emanuele IV was forced to flee the city and seek refuge in Sardinia. Turin was once again under foreign domination. After the return of Vittorio Emanuele I, his abdication in favour of Carlo Felice and the advent of Carlo Alberto, Turin became a pole of attraction for Risorgimento patriots, who found the freedom they were seeking here. This was an era of enthusiasm for the cause of a united Italy, of café life, with people meeting to debate (and hope), and, of course, of the wars of independence. In 1861, with the Unity of Italy, Turin became the first capital of Italy.
Another serious crisis followed when the capital was transferred to Florence in 1864. Then industry - the car industry in particular - began to spring up and, since the city offered work, it once more became a pole of attraction.
In the past the city had expanded according to a set plan with three programmed extensions: first southwards with the Via Nuova under Carlo Emanuele I, then down towards the Po under Carlo Emanuele II (1673) and, finally, with Juvarra's building of the Quartieri Militari, or Military Headquarters, under Vittorio Amedeo II in 1715.
In the twentieth century, the city has grown haphazardly, partly due to the rapid increase in population to a peak of 1,400,000 inhabitants (now back down to fewer than a million).
Today Turin is in search of its past, of the prestige which has played such an important role in the history of Italy and the charm which has attracted so many important figures.
People are now getting out again to discover the beauty of its vast squares, defined by majestic palaces, and its long straight streets. The original colours and forgotten paintings are reappearing on the facades of the houses. The Turinese are learning to love their city; hence their desire to get to know it better and teach others to know and love it too.