Parco del Valentino (also known as Valentino Park) is a popular public park in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is located along the west bank of the

Po river The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are forme ...

. It covers an area of 500,000m², which makes it Turin's second largest park (Turin's largest park, the 840,000m² Pellerina Park, is Italy's most extended urban green area). This park has been nominated “The best Italian park” after a selection among the fifteen best Italian parks.

History

The Parco del Valentino was opened by the city of Turin in 1856, and was Italy’s first public garden. It hosted the Eurovision Village during the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Racing circuit

Between 1935 and 1955 an occasional series of

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

events were held on the roads within the park, including the

1946 Turin Grand Prix The 1946 Turin Grand Prix (formally known as the III Gran Premio del Valentino) was a Grand Prix motor race held on 1 September 1946 on a temporary street circuit at Valentino Park in Turin, Italy. It was the first time the event had been held s ...

, which was the first

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

race, and the 1948 Italian Grand Prix. These races were generally known as the ''Gran Premio del Valentino''.

Layout history

Park contents

Buildings within the park include: *The Botanical Gardens *The Baroque Castle (

Castello del Valentino The Valentino Castle () is a historic building in the northwestern Italian city of Turin. It is located in Parco del Valentino, and is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin. It is one of the Residences of the ...

) *Medieval Castle and Village *The Torino Esposizioni and Underground Pavilion Complex *Società Promotrice delle Belle Arti *Villa Glicini

Gallery

File:Borgo medievale TO.jpg, The

Borgo Medioevale The Borgo Medioevale ( English: "Medieval Village") is an open air museum and reconstructed medieval village and castle in Turin, Italy. It is located in the Parco del Valentino (Valentino Park) on the riverbank of the Po river. It was built for ...

in Valentino Park. File:Statua cesare battisti valentino.jpg, Statue of Cesare Battisti in Valentino Park. File:Flor 61-rid.3.gif, Suggestive view of the lighting of a rock garden of Valentino Park, created by Guido Chiarelli for Expo 61 File:Valentino castle.jpg, The

File:Torino Arco monumentale all'Arma di Artigleria 2.jpg, Arco del Valentino File:Torino Fontana dei 12 Mesi 09.jpg, Fontana dei 12 mesi (Fountain of the 12 months)

References

{{Authority control Parks in Piedmont Italian Grand Prix Valentino Motorsport venues in Italy Geography of Turin Tourist attractions in Turin World's fair sites in Italy Cross country running venues