Turin: exhibitions devoted to the 150th anniversary of Italy

From March 17 in Turin will officially begin celebrations dedicated to the memorable date - the 150th anniversary of the establishment of unified Italy.

Turin, one of the largest centers of tourism and recreation in Italy, is known in addition to its numerous attractions as a historic center. Turin on March 17, 1861 was declared the first official capital of unified Italy.

Celebration of the anniversary of the unification of Italy in Turin will last until November 20, 2011. Numerous exhibitions, which will be held in different parts of the city, will present the wealth of historical and cultural heritage of Turin.

Over the next seven months in Turin are to be opened one show per week, which will tell about a particular period in history and culture of Italy. Also will work permanent exhibitions available for visiting throughout the celebrations.

Several exhibitions will be held in the renovated industrial center of Turin - big railway workshops (Officine Grande Riparazione). This is a unique museum, which exhibition tells the story of the rapid growth of the Italian railway network after the reunification. There will be held such exhibitions as "Creating of the Italians» (Fare gli Italiani) - a multimedia exhibition on uniting peoples of the Italian nation, "Station of the Future» (Stazione Futuro) - an exhibition, which will help to see how Italy will look like in the near future, as well as "Craftsmen of the future» (Il Futuro nelle mani), where will be presented unique prototypes of buildings and cars of the future. All exhibitions will last until November 20, 2011.

Another cultural center of Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy will be Venaria Reale. This is a beautiful architectural complex built by the order of the Herzog of Savoy in the 17 century. Venaria Reale is one of the biggest hunting houses in Italy. This unique estate has regularly been destroyed. For a long time it stood almost completely in ruins, when in 1997 the provincial authorities have decided to restore the complex to its original grandeur. The total cost of the restoration works was $350 million. Venaria Reale was reopened in 2007. On March 17, 2011 in this famous villa in Turin will be held one of the most striking exhibitions throughout Italy - "Beautiful Italy" (La Bella Italia), which will take place in the halls of the Grand Gallery. Here will be presented more than 350 masterpieces of the great Italian painters: Giotto, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Veronese, Titian, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rubens and others. The exhibition lasts until September 11.

Italian fashion – you can see Italian fashion industry at the exhibition "Italy in the mirror" (L'Italia Si Specchia), which will be held from 23 July to 11 December.

And finally, a separate exhibition at the Venaria Reale is prepared for the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. "Leonardo: the genius and myths" (Leonardo da Genio al Mito) - at this exhibition from 22 October to 8 December 2011 you will see pictures and drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the famous self-portrait of a genius artist.

In this case Turin will become a place not only for cultural, but also culinary events. So, from March 25 to April 3 in Turin will be held CioccolaTO - one of the largest world chocolate festivals.

For those, who are planning to visit Turin, portal www.travelling-italy.com offers hotels, apartments, villas and cottages in Turin for online booking.