Turin, capital of the north Italian region of Piedmont and the province of the same name, lies on the left bank of the Po in a fertile plain, at the confluence of the Rivers Dora Riparia and Po.
The regularity of the city's layout is an inheritance from
Roman times; its present aspect was largely shaped by the architects of the Baroque period, chief among whom were Guarino Guarini (1624-83) of Modena and the Sicilian Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736). Many of the long straight streets of Turin are lined with arcades. Turin is the see of an archbishop.
The city's varied range of industry includes a number of large firms, among them the Fiat and Lancia car plants, factories manufacturing engines and rolling-stock, an electricity corporation, plants producing man-made fibers (Snia, Viscosa), woolen and cotton mills, etc. Turin is also renowned for its vermouths (Martini & Rossi, Cinzano), its chocolate and the sweets called caramelle.
Taurasia, capital of a Celto-Ligurian tribe, the Taurini, became a Roman colony in the time of Augustus under the name of Augusta Taurinorum. In the Frankish period it was the seat of a marquis, but the town did not really begin to develop until it passed in 1418 to the main branch of the counts of Savoy. During the War of the Spanish Succession it was besieged by the French but was relieved in 1706 by Prince Eugene of Savoy and Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau. In 1720 it became capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Piedmont, and after the French occupation (1798-1814) became the center of the Italian striving towards unity. From 1861 to 1865 it was capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The house of Savoy kept its royal status until 1945.
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