Turin

Turin (/tjᵿˈrɪn/ tewr-IN; Italian: Torino, pronounced [toˈriːno]; Piedmontese: Turin, pronounced [tyˈɾiŋ]; Lombard: Türì; Latin: Augusta Taurinorum) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch and by the Superga Hill. The population of the city proper is 892,649 (August 2015) while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million.

The city has a rich culture and history, and is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera houses, piazzas, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums and other venues. Turin is well known for its renaissance, 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 (later Kingdom of Sardinia) was moved to Turin from Chambery (nowadays France) as part of the urban expansion.

Province of Turin

The Province of Turin (Italian: Provincia di Torino; Piedmontese: Provincia ëd Turin; French: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Turin.

It has an area of 6,830 km² (2,640 sq mi), and a total population of 2,306,676 (30 June 2011). There are 315 comuni in the province– the most of any province in Italy. The second highest comunis are in the Province of Cuneo which has 250. Torino, the regional capital of the province was the first Italian national capital in 1861. The most important export items from Turin are cars, machinery, metal and metal products. The province has commercial relations with Germany, France, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, Romania and Czech Republic. A large quantity of import and export is carried with these nations. Service is the most important economic sector accounting to 66% of the Gross Domestic Product. The other two important sectors are Industry (32%) and agriculture(2%). To promote entrepreneurship the provincial body has started- Start your own business (Italian: Mettersi in Proprio), a advice service to help aspiring entrepreneurs who have new business ideas.

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games (French: Les XX^es Jeux olympiques d'hiver) (Italian: XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Torino 2006, was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin, Italy, from February 10 to 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956. Italy also hosted the Games of the XVII Olympiad in Rome in 1960. Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 games in June 1999.

The official logo displayed the name "Torino", the Italian name of the city; the city is known as "Turin" in both English and the local traditional language, Piedmontese. The Olympic mascots of the games were Neve ("snow" in Italian), a female snowball, and Gliz, a male ice cube. The official motto of the XX Olympic Winter Games was "Passion lives here".

Host city selection

Turin was chosen as the host of the Olympics on June 19, 1999, at the 109th IOC Session. This was after the IOC had adopted new election procedures during the 108th Extraordinary IOC Session in light of the corruption scandals surrounding the votes for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.

2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships

The 30th European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena which has a seating capacity of 6,600 people.

It was the fourth time that the championships were held in Italy.

Men's results

Track

Field

Combined

Women's results

Track

Field

Combined

Medal table

Participating nations

References

External links

Italy

Coordinates: 43°N 12°E / 43°N 12°E / 43; 12

Italy (ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/; Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely Mediterranean and temperate climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City.

Since ancient times, Greeks, Etruscans and Celts have inhabited the south, centre and north of the Italian Peninsula respectively. Rome ultimately emerged as the dominant power, conquering much of the ancient world and becoming the leading cultural, political, and religious centre of Western civilisation. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the global distribution of civilian law, Republican governments, Christianity and the latin script.

Roman Italy

Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman Emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian peninsula (from the Alps to the Ionian Sea) was united under the same name. In the year 292, the three islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily were added to Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletianus.

Characteristics

Italy (Italia in Latin and Italian) was the name of the administrative division of the Italian peninsula during the Roman era. It was not a province, but became the territory of the city of Rome, thus having a special status. Following the end of the Social War (91–88 BC), Rome had allowed its Italian allies (socii) full rights in Roman society and granted the Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples.

After having been for centuries the heart of the Empire, from the 3rd century the government and the cultural center began to move eastward: first the Edict of Caracalla in 212 AD extended Roman citizenship to all free men within the imperial boundaries, then during Constantine's reign (306–337) the seat of the Empire was moved to Constantinople in 330 AD.

Italy Pavilion at Epcot

The Italy Pavilion is a Italy-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase, within Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Its location is between the Germany Pavilion at Epcot and The American Adventure.

Layout

The Italy Pavilion features a plaza surrounded by a collection of buildings evocative of Venetian, Florentine, and Roman architecture. Venetian architecture is represented by a re-creation of St Mark's Campanile (bell tower) and a replica of the Doge's Palace. The pavilion's design is inspired by other hallmarks of Italian architecture, such as the Neptune Fountain (reminiscent of Rome's Trevi Fountain) and the Il Bel Cristallo shop (meant to resemble the exterior of the Sistine Chapel). Musicians, clowns, and acting troupes often appear in the piazza throughout the day. There are also small shops selling Italian goods, such as candy and wine.