Moncalieri (; ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of 56,134 inhabitants (31 January 2022) about directly south of downtown

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

(to whose Metropolitan City it belongs), in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, Italy. It is the most populous suburb of Turin and it is notable for its castle, built in the 12th century and enlarged in the 15th century, which later became the favorite residence of King

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

and of his daughter Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. It is part of the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy are a group of buildings in Turin and the Metropolitan City of Turin, in Piedmont, northern Italy. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997. History The House of Savoy is an ancient ro ...

''.

History

Moncalieri was founded in 1228 by some inhabitants of Testona (now a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' of the ''comune ''of Moncalieri) as a refuge from the assaults from Chieri. The easy access to the

Po River The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are forme ...

and the bridge (a

Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 11 ...

possession for a long time) that it commanded granted a certain flourishing to the city, which became a free ''comune'' and housed a number of monastic institutions. In the 17th century it was acquired by the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

, whose members often lived in their castle here during the summer. During the unification of Italy it was the site of the famous Proclamation of Moncalieri. Having maintained its tradition as a summer resort, today Moncalieri is also home to many high technology companies.

Main sights

The

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

is one of the Savoy Residences listed as a World Heritage Site. It hosts since 1919 a prestigious

carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

school. Close to the castle, the descending square of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II was in the past the major centre for the Moncalieri activities. Its cobbled pavement was built back in 1825, and a sculpture-fountain of Neptune (''Il Saturnio'') can be found in the top part of it. For aesthetic as well as practical reasons, the Neptune fountain was several times moved back and forth. A small passage connects this square to the prestigious Real Collegio Carlo Alberto, school aimed for aristocratic descendants. Nowadays, the Collegio Carlo Alberto is managed by a joint initiative of the Compagnia di San Paolo and the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

; their mission is to foster research and teaching in law, economics, finance and political science. The Gothic church of ''Santa Maria della Scala'' houses the remains of the local patron. Other churches of interest are the later ''San Francesco'', ''Sant'Egidio'' and the ''Chiesa del Gesù''.

Culture

Moncalieri is devoted to Beato Bernardo: around the day dedicated to him (July 12), a historical reconstruction of his arrival in Moncalieri from

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

in 1458 is held. Libraries and Research Centers *Biblioteca Europea di Cultura "Victor Del Litto" *C.I.R.V.I. (Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerche sul Viaggio in Italia)

Notable people

* Lorenzo Lucca (born 2000), footballer * Pietro Canonica (1869 – 1959), sculptor and senator for life * Luca Frigo (born 1993), ice hockey player * Gabriele Ponte (born 1982), DJ and producer

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Moncalieri is twinned with: *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Argyroupoli,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

References

External links

{{authority control Cities and towns in Piedmont