Torino's Park

The Valentino park (parch dël Valentin, or simply ël Valentin, in Piedmontese) is a famous public park in Turin, located along the banks of the Po. It is located in the San Salvario district, close to the historic center of Turin.

Borders:

to the east with the left bank of the Po river;
to the north with Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, where the Murazzi end;
to the west with Corso Massimo D'Azeglio;
to the south it narrows, following Via Francesco Petrarca and its continuation, Corso Sclopis, and continuing along the course of the Po and Corso Unità d'Italia with a strip that disappears towards Moncalieri.

Valentino has an area of ​​421,000 m² and, according to TripAdvisor's 2014 ranking, is the Italian park most appreciated by tourists.
It is the best-known city park, one of the historical and popular symbols of the city.

«...remember those evenings spent at Valentino, with the blond student, who held you close to his heart...»

The origin of the name is uncertain, but it dates back to the first Roman settlements; from documents of the 13th century, it seems there was a very ancient chapel dedicated to Saint Valentine (176-273), preserving part of the relics of the patron saint of lovers brought directly from Terni. It is not clear whether the chapel then fell into ruin or was destroyed, but the relics were taken to the nearby church of San Vito, on the hill, across the river.

The Valentino area, however, was first inhabited by the Birago nobles, who built a villa there and then Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy purchased the entire area towards the middle of the 16th century.

In 1630-1660 the castle of the same name was built there, an imposing building designed by Carlo and Amedeo di Castellamonte, used as a summer residence of the Savoy family. The area went from a simple Po river park to an organized structure with refined gardens. But it was only in the 19th century that real modification work began on the current picturesque city park, according to the romantic project of the French landscape architect Barrillet-Dechamps.
Exhibitions

Valentino park was the site of various national and international exhibitions. On the occasion of the Italian General Exhibition of 1884, the characteristic medieval village was built on the southernmost part of the park, based on a project coordinated by Alfredo d'Andrade, who was passionate about medieval architecture. The Borgo had to re-propose the architectural styles inspired by the Piedmontese and Aosta Valley castles of the Middle Ages, complete with a visitable fortress. It then hosted the Italian General Exhibition of 1898 (of which the twelve-month fountain survives) and the Turin International Exhibition of 1911.

While the medieval village is today used for periodic exhibitions and artistic-cultural events, numerous floral exhibitions have been held in the Park over the years (such as FLOR 61, set up on the occasion of the centenary of the Unification of Italy), of which remain as a reminder, large flower beds, the rock garden and the mountain garden, with waterfalls, fountains and small streams.

Fountain of the Twelve Months (or of Carlo Ceppi), an imposing monument by Carlo Ceppi consisting of a large rococo basin surrounded by twelve statues representing the twelve months of the year, built in 1898 for the Expo relating to the fiftieth anniversary of the Albertine Statute.
Monument to the Artilleryman (also known as "Arco del Valentino" or "small Arch of Triumph"), triumphal arch located at the north entrance, at the beginning of Corso V. Emanuele II/Umberto I bridge, erected in 1930 and dedicated to 'Artillery Weapon, designed by Pietro Canonica.
Equestrian statue located in the entrance square of the floral path next to Turin Esposizioni, dedicated to Amedeo I (1845-1890), first Duke of Savoy-Aosta, monument created in 1902 by Davide Calandra.
Statue of Massimo d'Azeglio, a work from 1873 by Alfonso Balzico located on the street of the same name/corner of Corso V. Emanuele II.
Monument dedicated to Ascanio Sobrero (1812-1888), chemist who discovered nitroglycerin, a 1914 work by Carlo Biscarra and Giorgio Ceragioli
Bust of Cesare Battisti (1875-1916), politician, work from 1920 by Giuseppe Canavotto (1894-1940).
Bust dedicated to Nino Costa (1886-1945), poet, 1947 work by Andrea Campi.

On 11 June 1981, a young man named Andrea Sardos Albertini disappeared under mysterious circumstances: originally from Trieste, he was in Turin to negotiate the purchase of a new car. His body was never found, although analysis using an innovative infrared photographic technique indicated that the probable presence of a human body was detected at a point on the Po river inside the Valentino Park. In 1983, divers harpooned fragments of fabric compatible with the jeans and socks owned by Albertini in that same spot, but practical difficulties pushed the family to give up further research attempts in the river waters; Albertini was declared presumed dead in 1992.

In the 21st century the entire Park is redeveloped, especially in the floral area behind the Torino Esposizioni, enriched with new modern artistic works such as, for example, the bench of the "lamps in love" and the sensory paths with walks in the rock garden. Near the entrance to the Medieval Village there is a column that marks the floods of the Po river and the water level reached inside the Park: the greatest flood was that of 17 October 1839 (88 cm from the ground), followed by the recent one of 16 October 2000 (58 cm from the ground).

Finally, in recent times, the Park has occasionally been used as an outdoor exhibition space for various initiatives, such as the International Taste Fair, the Parco Valentino - Salone & Gran Premio and the Turin edition of the Oktoberfest.
Between 7 and 14 May 2022 the park hosted the Eurovision Village on the occasion of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.