Turin

Turin is the capital of the Piedmont region, it is located in north-west Italy on the Po river. The city is historically known for two things: the car company Fiat, which was born here in 1899, and the Shroud of Turin, believed to be the burial cloth of Christ. But its history and culture stretches far bayond these two highlights. Turin has lots of architectural treasures such as Palazzo Reale and many museums: among these the Egyptian Museum is the second largest in the world after the one in El Cairo. The city is largely regarded as one of the finest Baroque cities and attracts many tourists for this reason alone. In the year 1861 the House of Savoia became the rulers of Italy. Vittorio Emanuele II was crowned king. During this time, Turin was the capital of all of Italy and, as one can imagine, a center for Italian nationalism. Vittorio Emanuele II ruled over a ‘united Italy’ as well as Sicily due to the successful conquests of his predecessors. In 1864, the capital moved to Florence. Rome became Italy’s permanent capital in 1871.