Lingotto

The Lingotto district is located in
the south-eastern part of Turin,
bordered to the east by the river
Po and to the west by the railway.
It was founded around the 15th
century as a rural estate between
Turin and Moncalieri and takes its
name from the noble Lingotti's
family.
The ancient hamlet was later
converted into the district we can
see today around 1845, when the
King Carlo Alberto of Savoy
started the building of the railway
station, still visible today, built. In
1915, the nascent FIAT industry
set up its automobile production
plant here. This led to a rapid
transformation of the village from
a rural place to a working-class
district.

The Lingotto society has
undergone a great change
over time. In the beginning, it
was made up of local farmers,
but with the arrival of
industry, there was a
phenomenon of migration
from neighbouring districts
and other parts of Italy to this
area.
This happened because of the
increasing need for labour
and the need of people for
better living conditions.
You can observe this
phenomenon with your own
eyes. We recommend a visit
to the National Automobile
Museum: MAUTO, to see the
evolution of society through
cars.

Then you definitely have to visit
the Lingotto shopping centre.
Ex FIAT factory and central
production site for automobiles.
In 1985 it was recovered and
redeveloped by Renzo Piano,
thanks to him inside we can find:
an exhibition centre, a conference
centre, an auditorium; a service
centre, offices; a shopping centre
and a heliport. Today it is also a
venue for international events.
It is a building complex of five
pavilions, 70.000 m2 and
organised in a modular manner. Of
particular note is the large paved
test track, located above the roof
of the main complex.
In the area surrounding the mall,
you can see the buildings all alike
with the flats of the former
workers inside.