is a town and commune in north-western
Italy , 40 kilometres southwest of
Turin on the river
Chisone .
In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the
Dukes Of Savoy . Its military importance was the origin of the well-known military school that still exists today. The fortress of
Fenestrelle is nearby.
The earliest mention of Pinerolo is in the tenth century, when it belonged to the ''
Marca di Torino'' (March of Turin) and was governed by the
Abbot Nullius Of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina , even after the city had established itself as a commune (1247) below the governement of Thomas
Savoy .
From 1235,
Amadeus IV Of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which became absolute in 1243, and was continued thereafter either by the house of Savoy, or of Savoy-Acaia.
When French troops invaded Piedmont (1536), Pinerolo was conquered and it remained under their control until 1574.
With the
Treaty Of Cherasco it again fell to France (1630), and it remained under French rule until restored to the house of Savoy by the treaty of Turin, at the same time withdrawing from the league against
Louis XIV .
- the ''Cathedral'' dates from the 9th century, and has an attractive campanile
- church of ''San Maurizio'', in Gothic style.
People born in Pinerolo include:
- Lidia Poët (born 1855), the first Italian female advocate and an important figure in female emancipation
- Luigi Facta (1861 – 1930), politician, journalist and last Prime Minister of Italy before the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini
- Ferruccio Parri (1890 – 1981), partisan and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy for several months in 1945
