TURIN (Augusta Taurinorum, Bodincomages, Colon in Tdrino), a city of northern Italy, formerly capital of Piedmont, then of the kingdom of Italy, is situated near the confluence of the Po and the Dora Ripaira. 45° 5' n. lot,. 7° 42' e. long. Its pop. at the beginning of this century WaS 42,000—in 1863, it was 235,000; now that it is no longer the capital, it is reduced to (1872) 207,770. It began to acquire importance when Amadeus V. declared it the capital of Savoy in 1418; built a castle. there, and made it his residence. In 1020 Charles Emanuel I. enlarged the city by royal decree: it was still more enlarged in 1673 and in 1702. At the beginning of this century the French destroyed and leveled the ramparts of the town, converting them into public promenades. Of late years the moats and fortifications have been demol ished to make way for new streets toward Pota-Susa. In consequence of these improve ments Turin has become one of the handsomest cities in Europe. It is famed for its handsome squares. Some of the finest are—piazza San Carlo, surrounded by wide por ticoes, and adorned by a fine equestrian statue of Emanuel Philibert of Savoy, by Maro chetti; piazza Castello, also surrounded by porticoes, which are prolonged down via to the cud of piazza Vittorio Emanuele, the finest square in Europe for size, regularity of architecture, and beauty of situation; piazza Carlo Felice, with porticoes and a tine gar den; piazza Carlo Alberto, with an equestian statue of the king of that name by Maro chetti; piazza d'Armi, a vast open space for military exercises, flanked by the old and new arsenals of the kingdom. Leading out of piazza Vittorio Emanuele, there is a. handsome tive-arched bridge across the Po, begun by Napoleon I., with money got by the sale of the jewels and votive offerings of the cathedral, and finished by the kings of Sardinia. Another fine bridge is that across the Dora, of one single arch, nearly straight, the work of the engineer Mosca. Among the numerous churches, the principal are the cathedral of San Giovanni, a Gothic structure built in the 7th c., and reconstructed in
1498; San Filippo, the handsomest church in Turin; La Consolata; La Gran Madre di Dio; and a Waldensian temple, On the summit of a hill near the town is La Superga, a splendid basilica, raised by Victor Amadeus to fulfill a vow, and now the mausoleum of the house of Savoy. Among the "palaces" must be noticed the royal palace de signed by Castellanionte, which is poor in outward appearance; the Carignano palace, an odd building, by Guarini; the town-hall, designed by Lanfranchi; the university, with 71 professorships and about 900 students, a library of 120,000 vols., and 2,000 MSS.; the Accademia delle Scienze, with an Egyptian museum, the finest in Europe; the semi nary; the hospital of San Giovanni. The private palaces are numerous and vast, but in a bad style of architecture. There is the theater royal; the Carignano theater, de signed by Alfieri; the Vittorio Emanuele, and many other theaters.
The manufactures of Turin consist of woolen and silk fabrics, velvet hats, paper, pottery, leather, arms, and liquors. The population is sober, industrious, and gene rally well off.
Turin was originally inhabited by the Taurinians, a tribe of Ligurians. It is first men tioned in history in the time of Hannibal, by whom it was taken and sacked, on his descent into Italy after crossing the Alps. Turin became a royal colony 166 B.c., and was called by Augustus, Augusta Tauriaorum. On the fall of the empire it went to the Lombards, and became the capital of one of the 30 Lombard duchies. Charlemagne made it tile residence of the duke of Susa, whose line ruled till 1032, when the house of Savoy succeeded it. It was taken by the French in 1506, and held by them for nearly 60 years. They again took it in 1640; and in 1796 it was dismantled, and united to the i French empire in 1800 with the name of the department of the Po. In 1815 it was re stored to the house of Savoy,