To understand the Turin that followed, we need to return to 1563. That year Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, known as Iron Head, permanently established the capital of the Savoy state in Turin and moved its political, military and administrative centre there.
Moving the capital from Chambéry to Turin was not simply a change of residence. It concentrated the court, government offices and military and administrative functions in the city. Turin gradually began to build its role as a capital.
After the move, Emmanuel Philibert launched a programme of military and urban strengthening. The new Citadel, designed by Francesco Paciotto from 1564, became one of the clearest symbols of this transformation.
Emmanuel Philibert’s decision prepared a much longer story: Turin would become capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia and finally, in 1861, the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy.