PINEROLO

'Pinerolo' is a town and commune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone.

Contents

History

Main sights

Notable Pinerolesi

Trivia

Twin cities

See also

History

In the Middle Ages, 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.
The earliest mention of Pinerolo is in the tenth century, when it belonged to the ''Marca di Torino'' (March of Turin) and was governed by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina , even after the city had established itself as a commune (1247) below the governement of Thomas 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 (1630), and it remained under French rule until restored to the house of Savoy by the treaty of Turin, at the same time withdrawing from the league against Louis XIV.

Main sights

★ the ''Cathedral'' dates from the 9th century, and has an attractive campanile

★ church of ''San Maurizio'', in Gothic style.

Notable Pinerolesi

People born in Pinerolo include:

★ Lidia Poët (born 1855), the first Italian female advocate and an important figure in female emancipation

★ Luigi Facta (1861 – 1930), politician, journalist and last Prime Minister of Italy before the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini

★ Ferruccio Parri (1890 – 1981), partisan and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy for several months in 1945

Trivia

★ It hosted Curling events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

★ The "Man in the Iron Mask" was imprisoned in Pinerolo.

★ The Montevideo football team Peñarol takes its name from this town.

Twin cities

★ Gap, France, since 1963

★ Traunstein, Germany, since 1986

★ San Francisco, Argentina, since 1996

★ Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2005

See also

★ Diocese of Pinerolo