Turin Attractions

Venue: Turin Lingotto    When: Daily

A remnant of Turin's industrial past, the massive Turin Lingotto industrial plant has been turned into a multi-function centre as part of a project by Renzo Piano. It hosts a congress centre, an auditorium, a vast shopping area and the Agnelli Collection.

When it was built in the 1920s, the Lingotto was an example of modern industrial architecture, modelled on the needs of Fordist car manufacturing. Home to most of Fiat's production, it was called "a document of urban planning" by Le Corbusier. The imposing structure overlooks a neighbourhood of 1920s working class estates.

From the outside, hardly anything has changed: big windows and massive cement pillars frame the façade. But the inside carries no memories of presses and machines. The cherry tree-panelled auditorium boasts perfect acoustics and can vary in size according to need. The exhibition hall, one of the most important in the country, hosts such events as the National Book Fair and the Taste Fair. The arcades, made out of the old storage courtyard, host shops and restaurants.

The Giovanni and Marella Agnelli Gallery, also called the Casket, was presented to the city of Turin in 2003 by Mr Agnelli, the heir of the family who founded the Fiat company and owned the Lingotto. The Casket lies on the rooftop near the panoramic track once used to test cars. It features 25 paintings from Mr Agnelli's private collection, including works by Canaletto, Picasso and Balla.