Torino
/ Turin
Italian
language schools in Turin and in Piedmont
The
principal town of Piedmont. Number of Inhabitants: 865,263 (Source:
Istat 2001). Crossing the river Po.
Connection: Turin is situated near the main national railway
lines and it is well connected with the most important Italian
and North European cities. The Turin-Caselle airport is located16
km from the city centre and it can be reached by car in about
30 mins. thanks to a ring road of the motorway network that directly
connects Caselle to the most important cities of the Piedmont
region, Northern Italy, the South of France as well as many skiing
and holiday resorts.
The City History:
Origins:
Turin
dates back to pre-Roman times. The area where Turin is currently
situated was inhabited by the Taurin population. Afterwards, the
Romans associated the name tof this population with that of the
bull (latin = taurus) that subsequently remained the symbol of
the city, whilst this could have possibly derived from the Indo-European
"taur" which meant "mountain".
In about 28 a.C. Augustus founded the city naming it Julia Augusta
Taurinorum.
Risorgimento: In 1720, with Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy,
the Kingdom of Sardinia was born (today this refers to the Piedmont,
Liguria and Sardinia regions as well as today's districts of Savoy,
High Savoy and Nice) the capital of which was Turin.
In 1796, upon the accession to the throne of King Carlo Emanuele
IV, the Sabaudian territories were annexed to France.
In 1799, the French were expelled from Turin by the Austrian-Russian
coalition, but only a year after, the Napoleonic troops returned
to Turin and Piedmont was annexed to France in 1802.
By means of the Congress of Vienna in 1814, the Savoys, with Vittorio
Emanuele I, regained possession of Turin.
In 1920 the first carbonari movements were founded (followed also
by the Mazzinians) which strove for the liberation of Italy.
In 1848 Carlo Alberto granted the Statute and he became head of
the Italian Unity Movement and declared war against Austria, but
he was defeated in Novara, in 1849.
His son Vittorio Emanuele II succeeded to the throne, and the
prime minister of that time, Camillo Benso di Cavour succeeded
in taking France on his behalf to a common front against Asburgic
Austria. Thanks to the victory of the Second War of Independence
in 1859 and the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860, in 1861 the
Kingdom of Italy was founded, of which Turin became the capital
city.
Places
to visit: Mole
Antonelliana, Piazza Castello, Porte Palatine, Basilica di Superga,
Palazzo Madama, Borgo e Castello Medievale, Gran Madre di Dio,
Palazzo Carignano, Duomo di S.Giovanni e Cappella della S. Sindone
The
Piedmont wine and food tradition
Cards from Turin
Tourist Information in Turin
Hotels,
Boarding-Houses, Residences, Rooms in Turin
Campings, Tourist Villages in Turin
Farm Houses in Turin
Youth Hostels in Turin
Useful Links
Get
our Mailing List!
