Offer of the Piedmont Region's conference centre halls (November 2026)
Date of the event:
On 3 November 2026 the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, at the end of a meeting with interior minister Matteo Piantedosi at the Prefecture in Turin, offers free of charge the halls of the Region's skyscraper conference centre, with a capacity of up to 500 seats, to allow University of Turin classes to take place. The initiative responds to the suspension of in-person classes caused by the occupation of the Campus Luigi Einaudi, which has lasted more than a week [1][2].
The context
The Campus Einaudi has been occupied for more than a week at the time of the announcement. The university decided to let classes continue online, without taking an explicit position on the merits of the protest [2].
Cirio's announcement
The meeting at the Prefecture, also attended by minister Piantedosi for the provincial Committee for order and security, was attended by the Region's deputy president Maurizio Marrone, who in the morning had inspected the conference centre building [1][2]. Cirio states that «a small group of 50, 60, 100 young people» cannot stop thousands of students, estimated at 17,000, from attending classes, calling the occupation «an abuse of other people's rights» [1]. The proposal is communicated to the rector of the University of Turin, Cristina Prandi [1][2].
Political reactions
The occupation of the Campus Einaudi had been criticized by Fratelli d'Italia and the Radicali before Cirio's move [2]. The right-wing university collective Fuan calls for the suspension of university fee payments for every day of the occupation [2]. On the same day, in the Regional Council in Turin, Fratelli d'Italia asks the regional executive (Giunta) to work together with the leadership of the University of Turin and the prefect to end the occupation and restore teaching activities, while opposition parties, including Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, argue that this approach loses sight of the issues raised by the students, such as university funding, precarious work and difficulties in accessing housing [2].
Related articles: Alberto Cirio
Sources
- La Stampa — 3 November 2026
- Quotidiano Piemontese — 3 November 2026