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Torino (Turin in English) is an important business and cultural center in northern Italy, the capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River, surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the urban area is estimated to be 1.7 million people. The city has a rich culture and history and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera houses, city squares, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums, and other venues. Turin is well known for its baroque, rococo, neo-classical, and Art Nouveau architecture. Much of the city’s public squares, castles, gardens, and elegant palazzi, such as Palazzo Madama, were built in the 16th and 18th century, after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambéry (nowadays in France), as part of the urban expansion.

Torino is sometimes called the “cradle of Italian liberty”, for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Renaissance, such as Cavour, a leading figure in the movement toward Italian unification, and many of the protagonists of Italian political and social life in the 20th century, among the others, Antonio Gramsci, Piero Gobetti, and Palmiro Togliatti.  The city used to be a major European political center, being Italy’s first capital in 1861 and being home to the House of Savoy, the Italian royal family. The city currently hosts some of the best Italian universities, colleges, academies, such as the six century-old Univ. di Torino and the prestigious Engineering   school Politecnico di Torino.

In addition to Italian cuisine, the region around Torino offers some specialties, including a variety of cheese from the neighboring mountains. Dessert traditions include creative uses of hazelnuts cream. The region has seen the birth of internationally recognized movements, such as SlowFood and the Eataly “gourmet” grocery and restaurant chain. Torino is the home of several microbreweries, winners of international prizes every year.

Turin hosts prestigious museums and monuments, including the Egyptian Museum (the oldest museum entirely dedicated to Ancient Egypt and the second largest after Cairo’s) and the Mole Antonelliana (featured on the Italian 2-cent euro coins). Turin’s several monuments and sights make it one of the world’s top 250 tourist destinations. Turin is also well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin, the football teams Juventus F.C. and Turin F.C., the headquarters of automobile manufacturers FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, and as host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Several International Space Station modules, such as Harmony, Tranquility, and Columbus, were also manufactured at the Thales Alenia Space factory in Turin. Turin is the only Italian city listed in the New York Times “52 Places to Go in 2016” guide.