Turin, Italy

Population: 867,857 (2004 est.)
Coordinates: 45 3 N 7 40 E
As host city for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Turin, Italy is now in the news, but as it happens, this riverine city in the Piedmont region has held positions of even greater importance in the past. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was the capital of the kingdom of Sardinia, which then included the island of the same name in the Mediterranean. Then in 1861, after several decades of warfare and diplomacy among powerful European empires and dynasties, Turin became the first capital of a unified Italian state. The seat of government was moved to Florence four years later where it remained until Rome ultimately became the capital of the modern republic.

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