Turin

Turin stands on the western bank of the Po beneath the arc of the western Alps. Founded as the Roman colony of Augusta Taurinorum, it retained the orderly street plan of its ancient predecessor. The city grew into the political centre of the House of Savoy, its palaces and squares expressing the ambitions of a dynasty that ruled lands on both sides of the mountains.

In 1563 Duke Emmanuel Philibert made Turin the capital of Savoy. During the seventeenth century its walls were extended, the Royal Palace was built, and new streets and squares enlarged the city. French armies besieged Turin for 117 days in 1706 but failed to take it. After the peace of Utrecht, the Savoyard ruler gained a royal title, and Turin became the capital of a kingdom. Architect Filippo Juvarra helped reshape the city in the following decades.