The ancient Ligurian populations, which were later joined by the Taurinians, founded Turin, whose original name, Taurasia, was derived from the word “Thor”, which in their language meant “mount”. But according to Virgil the name comes from the fact that a tract of river Po appeared to the first inhabitants as a bull with golden horns.  
In fact, the symbol of the town is a bull rampant.

The town, who was allied with the Romans, was destroyed by Hannibal in 218 BC.   Julius Caesar awarded the town the Roman citizenship and established a colony which was later strengthened by Augustus, who called it Augusta Taurinorum, that is, Augusta of the Taurinians. In time the name changed and only Taurinorum remained, then it became Ad Taurinos (the place where the Taurinians live) and finally Torino (Turin).
After the barbarian invasions, Turin became the capital city of a very large territory called “marchland”, which was later added to the Savoy dynasty’s possessions.

In the 12th century it became a free Commune, then it was subject to the French domination till it returned under the Savoy dynasty, who chose it as the capital city of their State. Throughout the following centuries the Savoy dynasty Italianized Turin’s language and customs, enriched the town with monuments and buildings and gave it universities libraries and museums

During that time the town was besieged by the French several times, among which we remember the sacrifice of Pietro Micca and the victory of Vittorio Amedeo II, after which the Basilica of Superga was built.
In 1796, when Napoleon’s armies invaded half Europe, Turin was also occupied by the French till 1894, the year in which the emperor died and the Savoy dynasty returned. For Turin it was the most brilliant age. In the whole Italy the hopes of getting independent from the foreigners made Turin, the free capital city of the only free state in the peninsula, into a bright example. And it was from Turin that Carlo Alberto, in 1848, urged the Italians to fight in the First Independence War against Austria, and in the following decade Vittorio Emanuele and Camillo Cavour prepared the Second Independence War. In 1861 Vittorio Emanuele II was crowned  King of Italy in Turin, which was the capital city of the new Kingdom from 1861 to 1865.

But after the economic depression due to the loss of the role of capital city Turin did not lose its importance at all. In 1884 a great occasion appeared: the General Exposition in Valentino Park. On this occasion the park was redesigned and the Medieval Village was built. In the following years the rail links got improved and the local authorities devoted themselves to education and social care.

The automotive industry which would have made Turin famous all over the world was founded. Thanks to Giovanni Agnelli’s innovative ideas FIAT was born, followed by Lancia and Itala. It was in Turin that the first Italian movies were produced at the end of the century.

The new industries were attracting thousands of people, popular quarters were built, the railway network was widened and the first vocational training courses were started.
During the two world wars Turin went through depressions and economic recoveries.
In the years after the second world war the factories and the building patrimony of the town were seriously damaged. The town council devoted itself to the building of new houses, and it was the first one in Italy that realized council houses.  
FIAT was meanwhile growing and became an enormous power centre which caused an immigration wave from the rest of Italy.
In 1961, the year of the 100^th anniversary of the Italian unification, Turin’s population was over one million inhabitants. In 80s-90s Turin changed its look, the industrial restructuring reduced the employment, the number of enterprises decreased, and nowadays the town is projected towards new growth opportunities like finance, business services and culture.