1. INTRODUCTION (photo slideshow)
Old Turin, Turin first capital of Italy, Turin big industrial centre: to each period corresponds a different
identity that has left a trace in the picture of the city and that expresses itself in its cultural,
architectural and monumental heritage.
The winter Olympic Games of Turin 2006 revealed to the world an unexpected city not only to those
who didn’t know where it was on the map, but also to the people who already knew it. The success
obtained has been an important arriving point of a profound transformation process that the city has
been undertaking for a long time.
Since the ‘90s, Turin has been undergoing a change from industry capital, a sector that continues to
have a fundamental role in the local economy, a centre of innovation, of culture and of quality of life.
From being a place of production to becoming a centre of creation and new ideas: a process which
needs new infrastructures, new educational schemes, shared knowledge, opportunities for young
people and a better environment. They are the new ambitions of a city that has left behind it an
important history, great traditions and an amazing geographical position: Turin is in fact situated an
hour from the mountains and one from the sea and it is – as the famous architect Le Courbusier
defined it – “the city with the most beautiful natural position”.