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Metropolitan City of Turin

Wide-area authority created on 1 January 2015 in place of the Province of Turin: 312 municipalities, 6,827 km², led ex officio by the mayor of the capital.

Image from the ANSA Piemonte publication
From the publication by ANSA Piemonte, 2026-09-17

The Metropolitan City of Turin is the wide-area authority that governs the territory of the former Province of Turin: 6,827 square kilometres divided into 312 municipalities, from the plain of the Po to the Alpine passes, with 2,230,946 inhabitants according to the 2020 ISTAT surveys[1]. It was created by law no. 56 of 7 April 2014, and took over from the province of the same name on 1 January 2015[1]. In the national statistical coding it carries the number 201, the first in the series of metropolitan cities[2]. By law, its mayor is the mayor of Turin.

From province to metropolitan area

The idea that Turin was something more than its municipality is an old one. Already in the 1930s it was noted that within a radius of fifteen kilometres from the centre there lived 33 municipalities, with 156,500 people recorded at the 1931 census, and that towns such as Moncalieri, Rivoli, Venaria, Settimo and Chieri were by then drawn almost entirely into the city's orbit[3]. In the postwar period, with industrial growth, this ring was also recognized on paper: a 1972 regional decree defined a Turin metropolitan area of 52 neighbouring municipalities, arranged in two concentric rings[1].

For more than forty years, however, the body administering the territory remained the Province. The turning point came with law 56 of 2014, the so-called Delrio law, which turned the provinces of the largest capitals into metropolitan cities: nine from 1 January 2015, becoming fourteen from 1 January 2017 with the addition of Reggio Calabria, Catania, Messina, Palermo and Cagliari[2]. In Turin the new authority coincides exactly with the boundaries of the old province[1].

How the authority works

There are three bodies: the metropolitan mayor, the metropolitan council and the metropolitan conference[4]. The mayor of the capital is ex officio mayor of the Metropolitan City; the council is not elected by citizens but by the mayors and councillors of the municipalities in the territory; the conference brings together all the mayors and is convened and chaired by the metropolitan mayor[4].

This second-degree mechanism was challenged before the Constitutional Court by Lombardy, Veneto, Campania and Puglia. With ruling 50 of 2015, filed on 26 March, the Court rejected the appeals, recalling that it had already affirmed in 1968 «the full compatibility of a second-degree elective mechanism with the democratic principle and with the principle of local autonomy»[4].

Six years later the same Court returned to the issue from another angle. In ruling 240 of 2021, filed on 7 December, it declared inadmissible the questions concerning the automatic designation of the metropolitan mayor, since the correction was a matter for Parliament, but wrote that the current system is not «in keeping with the coordinates that can be drawn from the constitutional text»[5]. The warning was addressed to the legislature:

«to call for legislative action capable of preventing the functioning of the metropolitan authority from continuing for much longer in a state of non-conformity with the constitutional standards referred to»

Constitutional Court, ruling no. 240, 2021

The eleven homogeneous zones

A territory of 312 municipalities, largely mountainous and with tiny villages alongside towns of tens of thousands of inhabitants, cannot be governed from a single table. In the authority's first months, the first metropolitan mayor, Piero Fassino, put to the territories, together with the statute, the division into eleven homogeneous zones approved by the metropolitan council[6].

The zones reflect different geographies and histories. The first is the capital; three rings make up the Turin metropolitan area: the West zone, of 173 square kilometres, with Collegno, Grugliasco and Rivoli; the South zone, with Moncalieri, Nichelino and Orbassano; the North zone, seven municipalities including Settimo, Borgaro, Leinì and Caselle[6]. Then come the Pinerolese, with 45 municipalities around Pinerolo; the Susa and Sangone valleys; the Ciriacese and the Lanzo valleys, with 40 municipalities; the western Canavese, with 46; the Eporediese around Ivrea, the most fragmented, with 58 municipalities; the Chivassese around Chivasso, with 24; and finally the Chierese-Carmagnolese, with 22[6]. At the time of approval, three municipalities, Osasio, Lombriasco and Carignano, still had to choose between the South zone and that of Chieri and Carmagnola[6].

The zones are not administrative bodies but spaces for coordination: in the Pinerolese, where the irrigated plain gives way to the Chisone, Pellice and Germanasca valleys, they serve to coordinate schooling, mobility, services, employment and tourism, matters that do not stop at the boundaries of individual municipalities[7].

Palazzo Cisterna, the seat

The ceremonial seat is Palazzo Dal Pozzo della Cisterna, on via Maria Vittoria. Built in 1675 for the counts Ripa di Giaglione to a design by Antonio Maurizio Valperga or his brother Andrea, it passed in 1685 to the Dal Pozzo della Cisterna family; in the 18th century the architect Francesco Valeriano Dellala di Beinasco directed its expansion[8]. From 1867, with the marriage of Maria Vittoria Dal Pozzo to Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, it became a ceremonial residence, and Francesco Gonin added rooms, coffered ceilings and gilding[8]. In 1940 the Savoy-Aosta family ceded it to the provincial administration, which has had its official seat there since 1945[8].

The historic garden, overlooking via Carlo Alberto, was restored and reopened to the public on 10 April 2025, and can be visited every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.[9]. In August 2026 mayor Stefano Lo Russo presented the redevelopment of the entire building: over 14 million euros, 13 of them from the authority's budget and one from the Compagnia di San Paolo, to restore the historic rooms and the library and create offices and services, with completion expected in spring 2027[10].

Today

The authority increasingly works in tandem with the City of Turin. In February 2026 the two bodies launched a two-year, cost-free and renewable agreement to share digital procurement platforms, staff training and the management of PNRR funds[11]. «This agreement between the City of Turin and the Metropolitan City responds to the need for administrative integration between the two bodies and aims to increase their efficiency through cooperation», declared deputy mayor Michela Favaro[11].

The problem flagged by the Constitutional Court concerns precisely this mechanism: the metropolitan mayor is the mayor chosen by the voters of a single municipality, while the inhabitants of the other 311 have no part in electing him[5].

Memorandum of understanding with the Museum of the Risorgimento (September 2026)

The Metropolitan City of Turin formalizes with the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento a memorandum of understanding for the joint development of educational and training programmes, historical outreach activities, temporary exhibitions and exhibition projects, with attention to the themes of civic education, sustainability and active citizenship. The memorandum is signed by the Museum's president, Luisa Papotti, and by metropolitan councillor Sonia Cambursano, who is responsible for tourism. Among the first joint initiatives are events linked to the exhibition «A tavola, cucina, cibo e gusto nell'Italia del Risorgimento» ("At the Table: Cooking, Food and Taste in Risorgimento Italy"), on show at the Museum from October 2026 to April 2027.

25.9 million euros from the ministry for the MeMo sustainable mobility project (September 2026)

In September 2026 the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security awards the Metropolitan City of Turin 25.9 million euros, the second-highest amount among the Italian authorities taking part in the call, for «MeMo - Metropoli in movimenTo» ("MeMo - Metropolis on the Move"), a project to reduce dependence on private cars for home-to-school and home-to-work trips, develop interchange between train and bicycle, and support more efficient urban logistics. The funding focuses on four lines of action: sustainable urban logistics, strengthening area-wide mobility management, promoting cycling through the «bike to rail» strategy, and school mobility.

25.9 million euros for the MeMo sustainable mobility project

The Metropolitan City of Turin obtains from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security funding of 25.9 million euros — the second-highest among the Italian authorities taking part in the call — for the MeMo-Metropoli in movimenTo project, which aims to reduce dependence on private cars, develop interchange between train and bicycle, and support more efficient urban logistics, with actions aimed above all at home-to-school and home-to-work trips.

Tenders issued for new bridges on the SP92 and at Strambinello (September 2026)

The Metropolitan City of Turin issues the tender for the new bridge over the Po on Provincial Road 92 between Castiglione and Settimo Torinese, a project worth 19.5 million euros, having already launched the tender for the new Preti bridge at Strambinello.

The MeMo-Metropoli in movimenTo project and the 25.9 million euro funding (September 2026)

On 17 September 2026 the Metropolitan City of Turin obtains from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security funding of 25.9 million euros, the second-highest among the Italian authorities taking part in the call, for the MeMo-Metropoli in movimenTo project, dedicated to reducing dependence on private cars for home-to-school and home-to-work trips. The metropolitan councillor responsible for Transport, Pasquale Mazza, names four lines of action: sustainable urban logistics, strengthening mobility management, promoting cycling through the bike-to-rail strategy, and school mobility.

Timeline

  • — The Metropolitan City of Turin launches the MeMo - Metropoli in movimenTo programme, funded by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security with 25.9 million euros. Città metropolitana di Torino Il Torinese
  • — The Metropolitan City of Turin opens the 2026 call for the Digital Civil Service, with 12 places for the «PA Digitale per Tutti – Facilitazione e inclusione» project, applications due by 6 November. → Città metropolitana di Torino CronacaQui Torino
  • — The Metropolitan City of Turin issues the tender for the new bridge over the Po on Provincial Road 92 between Castiglione and Settimo Torinese, a project worth 19.5 million euros, having already launched the tender for the new Preti bridge at Strambinello. Città metropolitana di Torino TorinoOggi
  • — The Metropolitan City of Turin announces the return of the Salone della mobilità scolastica attiva ("Active School Mobility Fair"), scheduled for Monday 5 October in the Auditorium at its corso Inghilterra headquarters in Turin, dedicated to building a metropolitan network to make the areas around schools safer. → Città metropolitana di Torino TorinoOggi
  • — Under the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Turin, the fifth edition of «Carte in Dimora» is held, the National Day of the Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane, which opens private archives and libraries housed in historic residences free of charge to the public. → Città metropolitana di Torino
  • — At Venaus, in Val Cenischia, the Metropolitan City of Turin inaugurates the new roundabout on provincial road 210, built with an investment of 250,000 euros to make access to the historic centre safer. → Città metropolitana di Torino TorinoOggi
  • — Along Provincial Road 1 of the Lanzo Valleys, at Pessinetto, the placement of the covering beams for the rockfall-protection gallery continues, with alternating one-way traffic regulated by traffic lights; at Reano, Sp 185 remains closed until 21 October for work on the power grid. → Città metropolitana di Torino ANSA Piemonte
  • — The Metropolitan City of Turin announces that extraordinary maintenance work on the bridge over the Pellice stream on Sp 157 between Bricherasio and Bibiana will last roughly 90 days in all, and from 7 October adjusts the timing of the alternating one-way traffic lights to reduce queues on Sp 161. → Eco del Chisone
  • — The Metropolitan City of Turin organizes two free walks along the Cammino Don Bosco, between the Basilica of Superga and Castelnuovo Don Bosco, on 17 October and 15 November. Città metropolitana di Torino TorinoOggi

Related articles: Augusta Taurinorum, Call for Tenders for the Bridge on the SP92 between Castiglione and Settimo Torinese (September 2026), Call for Tenders for the New Bridge over the Po between Castiglione Torinese and Settimo Torinese (2026), Settimo Torinese, Tender for the Bridge on SP 92 between Castiglione and Settimo Torinese, Tenders for the Castiglione and Strambinello bridges (2026)

Pages that link here

Sources

  1. Treccani
  2. ISTAT
  3. Treccani, Enciclopedia Italiana —
  4. Corte costituzionale — 26 March 2015
  5. Corte costituzionale — 7 December 2021
  6. Mole24 — 28 January 2015
  7. Mole24 — 3 April 2026
  8. Mole24 — 18 October 2023
  9. Torinoclick (Città di Torino) — 10 April 2025
  10. Mole24 — 25 August 2026
  11. Torinoclick (Città di Torino) — 25 February 2026
  12. Città Metropolitana di Torino — 24 September 2026
  13. ANSA Piemonte — 17 September 2026
  14. Città metropolitana di Torino — 30 September 2026
  15. TorinoOggi — 30 September 2026

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