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Turin

Turin is a city and a business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of the Piedmont region and of the Metropolitan City of Turin. From 1861 to 1865, it was the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The city is mainly on the western bank of the River Po, below its Susa Valley, and is surrounded by the western Alpine arch and Superga hill.

Typical weather

1981–present
JFMAMJJASOND
summerwinter
coldcool warmhot ▢ outlined = best time to visit
JFMAMJJASOND
Best time to visit Jul, Aug — mild (15–26 °C mean) and not wet months.

City Rhythm

measured
Eat well at 2 a.m.
12% of food & drink open past midnight
Work all day from a café
56 h open per week
Run Sunday's errands
70% of shops open on Sundays
Find breakfast before 8
27% open before 8 a.m.

Opening hours, by kind of place

median across mapped venues
Food & drink5,030 places mapped
11:30–23:00
0006121824
12%
open past midnight
73%
open on Sundays
56h
open per week
27%
take a midday break
Shops & errands2,044 places mapped
08:30–20:00
0006121824
0%
open past midnight
70%
open on Sundays
78h
open per week
20%
take a midday break
4%
open 24/7

Vital absurdities

measured · the Anti-Awards

Same time system

by rhythm

What to do each season

2
Oct-May

winter

cold, foggy in the Po Valley, dry; mean 1.2-14.4 °C across the range; January mean min −2.0 °C; snow possible; winter fog banks frequent

  • indoor cultural season: the Royal Palace of Turin, the Egyptian Museum (Museo Egizio — the world's second-largest Egyptian collection after Cairo), the National Cinema Museum in the Mole Antonelliana
  • Juventus and Torino FC football seasons carry winter public life
  • the Savoy Residences (UNESCO World Heritage) host indoor civic and museum life
Jun-Sep

summer

warm, occasionally hot; mean 16.9-21.7 °C, July mean max 27.2 °C; thunderstorms in the hottest months; alpine-proximity cooling at altitude

  • the Po river parks, the Valentino Park and the Hill (Collina) become usable
  • the Savoy Residences (Stupinigi, Venaria Reale) at peak visitor season
  • outdoor cafés and the Murazzi del Po (former riverbank warehouses now bars) activate
  • Turin Film Festival (November) closes the autumn; International Book Fair (May) opens the warm season

What it is known for

Mole Antonelliana (symbol)🖼Egyptian Museum (Museo Egizio)Savoy Residences (UNESCO)FIAT / Lingotto (automobile industry)first capital of Italy (1861-1865)House of SavoyRisorgimento / 'cradle of Italian liberty'Juventus FC🌉Po riverGianduja / gianduia chocolate (origin)

Important moments in a year

mid-November (originally), now variable

Cioccolatò

  • Turin's chocolate festival — the city is the birthplace of gianduja
wikipedia:Culture
May

Salone del Libro

  • Turin International Book Fair — Italy's largest
wikipedia:Culture
November

Turin Film Festival

  • international cinema festival — second only to Venice in Italy
wikipedia:Culture
11-01

Tutti i Santi

  • the city's patronal celebrations (Madonna Consolata 20 June is the more local date)
candidate — recurring civic ritual

On the record

source-tracked
history

From 1563, it [Turin] was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the House of Savoy, and then the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1865.

wikipedia:lead
history

Turin is sometimes called "the cradle of Italian liberty" for having been the political and intellectual centre of the Risorgimento.

wikipedia:lead
nature

Located in northwestern Italy at the foot of the Alps, Turin features a mid-latitude, four seasons humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), similar to that of Grenoble.

wikipedia:Climate
nature

Winters are moderately cold and dry; summers are mild in the hills and quite hot in the plains.

wikipedia:Climate
nature

During the winter and autumn months banks of fog [are frequent].

wikipedia:Climate
history

Turin, as the former capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Italy, is home of the Savoy Residences.

wikipedia:Culture
history

In addition to the 17th-century Royal Palace, built for Madama Reale Christine Marie of France (the official residence of the Savoys until 1865) there are many palaces, residences and castles in the city centre and in the surrounding towns.

wikipedia:Culture
movement

The Spina Centrale ('Central Spine') project includes the doubling of a major railway crossing the city [a major reshaping of the urban form].

wikipedia:Transport
From the review desk · coming soon
What Cities Let You Do

The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.