Turin

Turin (Torino) is the capital of Italy's north-western region of Piedmont (Piemonte). Geographically located at the cross point of the Po River and the Dura River, the city is surrounded by the snow-covered Alpine arch, which offers an impressive backdrop.

With a population of 909,193 inhabitants, which reaches 2.2 million people including the metropolitan area, Turin is a major business, industrial and cultural centre.

The city, which dates back more than 2,000 years, has an extremely rich culture and history. Being the first capital of unified Italy, it still preserves beautiful squares dominated by noble equestrian statues of Savoy princes, as well as about 16 km of elegant arcaded streets for all-weather shopping and strolling.

Even though the city has for a long time been considered only as a primary industrial centre because of the presence of Fiat Cars, a major automobile manufacturer, in recent years Turin has become an increasingly popular tourist destination, with about 240,000 international arrivals each year.

The major attractions of the city include the National Cinema Museum, located inside the Mole Antonelliana, a bizarre and fascinating monument which is the most recognisable iconic symbol of the city of Turin, and the Egyptian Museum.  With 6,500 objects displayed and more than 26,000 in storage, the museum represents one of the world's largest collections entirely dedicated to Egyptian art and culture.

The centre of Turin, with its lively and cosmopolitan atmosphere, features baroque, rococo, neo-classical, and Art Nouveau architecture, and is well-known for its numerous art galleries, churches, elegant buildings, museums, gardens and spacious boulevards.

Turin is also one of the more accessible Italian cities for visitors with disabilities, thanks to a good range of ad hoc structures and services and highly aware customer service departments catering to the needs of those with physical disabilities and others requiring special assistance. Even though on the occasion of the recent 2006 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Games significant improvements were made to enhance the main tourist and cultural locations’ accessibility, further progress is still necessary to make a stay in the city completely pleasant, enjoyable and safe for people with disabilities.

► Video TOTO4All: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GW_v3IojsE&feature=youtu.be 

► Download the presentation shown at the Global Forum on Accessible Cities describing the 'state of art' of accessibility in Turin.

► Download the presentation detailing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Turin.

_{Credits for all photos: Giovanni Fontana}

Partner Foundation(s)

• ISITT - Istituto Italiano per il turismo per tutti (Italian Institute Tourism for All)
• Turismabile