Pinerolo

For the infantry division, see 24th Infantry Division Pinerolo. For the Italian Army brigade, see Pinerolo Mechanized Brigade.
Pinerolo
Comune
Città di Pinerolo

Coat of arms
Pinerolo

Location of Pinerolo in Italy

Coordinates: IT 44°53′N 07°20′E / 44.883°N 7.333°E / 44.883; 7.333
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Province / Metropolitan city Turin (TO)
Frazioni Abbadia Alpina, Ainana, Avaro/Tron, Bacchiasso, Batur, Baudenasca, Biscornetto, Borgata Colombaio, Borgata Orba, C.E.P., Cascina della Cappella, Cascina Ghiotta, Cascina Gili, Cascina Nuova, Cascina Pol, Case Bianche, Case Nuove, Colletto, Gerbido di Costagrande, Gerbido di Riva, Graniera, Losani, Motta Grossa, Pascaretto, Riauna, Riva, Rubiani, Salera, San Martino, Stazione di Riva, Talucco, Villa Motta Rasini
Government
  Mayor Luca Salvai
Area
  Total 50 km2 (20 sq mi)
Elevation 376 m (1,234 ft)
Population (30 September 2015)
  Total 35,805
  Density 720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Pinerolesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 10064
Dialing code 0121
Patron saint St. Donatus
Saint day Monday after last Sunday of August
Website Official website
The Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie.

Pinerolo (French: Pignerol ; Piemontese: Pinareul) is a town and comune in Piedmont, northwestern Italy, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary between Pinerolo and San Pietro Val di Lemina.

History

Archaeological remains found in the center of Pinerolo in the early 1970s testify the human presence in the area in prehistoric times[1] Remains of the times necropolis of Dama Rossa, found during works for the Pinerolo-Turin highway in 2003, show that the area at the time was the seat of agricultural activities[2]

The toponym of Pinerolo appears only in the Middle Ages, in an imperial diplom dating from 981, by which Otto II confirmed its possession, within the March of Turin, to the Bishops of Turin. The town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance was the origin of the well-known military school that still exists today. The fortress of Fenestrelle is nearby. Later Pinerolo was ruled by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina, even after the city had established itself as a municipality (1247) under the government of Thomas II of Savoy.

From 1235, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which became absolute in 1243, and was continued thereafter either by the house of Savoy, or of Savoy-Acaia.

When French troops invaded Piedmont (1536), Pinerolo was conquered and it remained under their control until 1574.

With the treaty of Cherasco it again fell to France (1631).

France agreed to hand back Pinerolo to the house of Savoy under the Treaty of Turin (1696) with the conditions that its stronghold's fortifications be demolished and that Savoy withdraw from the League of Augsburg against Louis XIV.

The 2011 Tour de France featured a stage in the area.

Economy

It is around Pinerolo that revolves the economy of the waldensian valleys (right slope of Val Chisone, Valle Germanasca and Val Pellice) and of the plain between these valleys and the Po (river) course.

Several industries have their base in this area, particularly mechanical, paper making, chemical and textile industries, and also absorb manpower from the nearby centres.

The leading companies are Corcos which produces seals for rotating shafts and valves sterns, Raspini, a meat processing company, NN Inc. which manufactures ball bearings, the Trombini Group (ex Annovati) which supplies the furniture industry with chipboard and PMT Italia which supplies the pulp and paper industry with paper machines. Moreover, Pinerolo is the trade center of the surrounding mountain area.

The agriculture and the breeding of the livestock are conducted with advanced techniques. Pinerolo is the centre of the community called Comunità Montana Pinerolese Pedemontano.

Main sights

Notable Pinerolesi

People born in Pinerolo include:

People who died here include:

Sports

The venue Pinerolo Palaghiaccio hosted curling events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.[4]

The Uruguayan football team Peñarol takes its name from the Montevideo neighbourhood of Peñarol, which in turn takes its name from this town.

Twin cities

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pinerolo.

See also

References

  1. Perrot,, Mauro Maria (2012). Storia di Pinerolo e del suo territorio. Turin: LAR Editore.
  2. Page at Pinerolo website
  3. Marchiando-Pacchiola, Mario. Il Duomo di San Donato in Pinerolo. I Quaderni della collezione civica d’Arte di Pinerolo, Q. 24.
  4. 2006 Winter Olympics official report. Volume 3. pp. 68-9.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.