Turin was part of the Roman Empire under Augustus.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, it was first invaded by the Goths, then by
the Lombards and lastly by the Franks, and consequently occupied by Charlemagne’s
troops in 773. It was subjected to the feudal regime of the Holy Roman Empire
in the centuries that followed, until the independent region of Turin was founded
in 940. An early city council organisation was created in the 12th century by
some families closely connected with the Bishop, and formed a compact coalition
against the Savoy family. In 1251 however Tommaso II of Savoy obtained feudal
rights over the city from Frederick II. Turin developed vertically with the
addition of more storeys to the buildings already standing inside the old Roman
fortifications. The University of Turin was founded in 1404, while the city
itself was transformed into a Duchy in 1416. This led to a process of administrative
unification and the creation of a Duchy council. Turin was officially nominated
capital of the Savoy dominions in 1562, in spite of being occupied by the French
from 1536 to 1562. Some years later Emanuele Filiberto had a modern citadel
built here, though this was destroyed in the mid 19th century. Turin became
a capital city between the 17th and 18th centuries. The Treaty of Utrecht transformed
the Duchy into a kingship in 1713, thus further strengthening the power of the
Savoys. Carlo Emanuele IV of Savoy abdicated and fled the city in 1798; after
this the strong ring of city walls that had protected the city for over two
centuries were demolished at the orders of Napoleon. The Savoy dynasty returned
in 1814 with Vittorio Emanuele I of Savoy. After the Risorgimento, it was capital
of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1865. FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili
Torino), was founded in 1899, at the same time as many other automobile industries. |