From Turin market’s origins to the early twentieth century…
Turin is a beautiful and historic city and just like every other big city it has always had to meet the various needs that come with growth and its heterogeneous population which, over the last 100 years, has grown steadily and has gradually transformed. This has positively contributed to making it what it is today: a historic and cosmopolitan city which is a particularly dynamic cultural and economic system.
Over time this city has also had the strong need to develop a multitude of economic activities, at the same time paying special attention to the agricultural and industrial production, including the craft skills of its people. Today its main industry is its tertiary sector. The multiplicity of needs of its population, its genius and productive strength has provided a natural drive to the creation of markets as a result of such dynamism.
In fact, the early areas of market activity, which already thrived in the sixteenth century, were gradually forced to increase in size, therefore necessitating moves over time to different and always larger locations of a city which, itself, was always in turmoil. These new areas responded better to the needs of the agricultural producers on the one hand and on the other hand to the consumers. These were the first market areas in Turin.
In the blink of an eye, today’s markets came into existence almost in the way they are now.
From the early twentieth century to the present day
Agricultural markets appeared as a specialization of the more generic markets in the past. It was then in 1928 that the City of Turin, with remarkable foresight, allocated the remarkable amount at the time of lira 10,600,000 to build a new fruit and vegetable market in the city.
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The construction of the market started around Christmas 1931 and the Fruit and Vegetable Market in Via Giordano Bruno was already open in 1933. It functioned for 68 years, except for the war-time period where it suffered considerable damage from Allied bombing, finally closing in January 2002.
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Turin’s population continued to grow along with this market place, which became an important commercial centre of the city. Over time its limitations, became more and more obvious, especially in a logistical sense. Once again the city of Turin had to think big, and as a result moved the fruit and vegetable market to a new and larger area.
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In the mid-80’s, the Italian Government published in the Official Gazette No. 48 of 28 - 02 - the 1986 Law. 41/1986 and thus provided substantial economic resources (1,000 billion lire) for the construction of new Italian Agro Food Centers. In this way those cities that felt the need, had the possibility to build new and more technologically advanced market infrastructures.
Cities interested in creating new market places (which the law defined as AgroFood Centres for the first time) had to bare, as in the past, a great financial burden. Law 41/86 ruled that 40 % of the cost of the project was borne by the State and 60% by the local entities and individuals of those cities interested in presenting a project to be financed.
Once again the C
From Turin market’s origins to the early twentieth century…
Turin is a beautiful and historic city and just like every other big city it has always had to meet the various needs that come with growth and its heterogeneous population which, over the last 100 years, has grown steadily and has gradually transformed. This has positively contributed to making it what it is today: a historic and cosmopolitan city which is a particularly dynamic cultural and economic system.
Over time this city has also had the strong need to develop a multitude of economic activities, at the same time paying special attention to the agricultural and industrial production, including the craft skills of its people. Today its main industry is its tertiary sector. The multiplicity of needs of its population, its genius and productive strength has provided a natural drive to the creation of markets as a result of such dynamism.
In fact, the early areas of market activity, which already thrived in the sixteenth century, were gradually forced to increase in size, therefore necessitating moves over time to different and always larger locations of a city which, itself, was always in turmoil. These new areas responded better to the needs of the agricultural producers on the one hand and on the other hand to the consumers. These were the first market areas in Turin.
In the blink of an eye, today’s markets came into existence almost in the way they are now.
From the early twentieth century to the present day
Agricultural markets appeared as a specialization of the more generic markets in the past. It was then in 1928 that the City of Turin, with remarkable foresight, allocated the remarkable amount at the time of lira 10,600,000 to build a new fruit and vegetable market in the city.
| |
The construction of the market started around Christmas 1931 and the Fruit and Vegetable Market in Via Giordano Bruno was already open in 1933. It functioned for 68 years, except for the war-time period where it suffered considerable damage from Allied bombing, finally closing in January 2002.
| |
Turin’s population continued to grow along with this market place, which became an important commercial centre of the city. Over time its limitations, became more and more obvious, especially in a logistical sense. Once again the city of Turin had to think big, and as a result moved the fruit and vegetable market to a new and larger area.
| |
In the mid-80’s, the Italian Government published in the Official Gazette No. 48 of 28 - 02 - the 1986 Law. 41/1986 and thus provided substantial economic resources (1,000 billion lire) for the construction of new Italian Agro Food Centers. In this way those cities that felt the need, had the possibility to build new and more technologically advanced market infrastructures.
Cities interested in creating new market places (which the law defined as AgroFood Centres for the first time) had to bare, as in the past, a great financial burden. Law 41/86 ruled that 40 % of the cost of the project was borne by the State and 60% by the local entities and individuals of those cities interested in presenting a project to be financed.
Once again the City of Turin accepted the challenge by underwriting 91.81% of the share capital of the new company that would build the new market place.
On 27 November, 1989 CAAT S.c.p.A. was founded, the acronym of which means "Centro Agro Alimentare di Torino Società Consortile per Azioni” (Turin Agrofood Center, a consortium listed on the Stock Exchange).
This company, under the auspices of the municipality of the city and backed by the entrepreneurial union representatives of the old market place in Via Giordano Bruno, as well as by the representatives of the Piedmont Agricultural producers and handlers, having completed all the necessary documentation to gain the funding on July 7, 1995, started preparing the building site. Thus began the construction of what would soon become the third biggest Agrifood Centre in Italy.
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January 21, 2002 was a memorable day when the wholesale companies, the agricultural producers, the service companies, suppliers and customers that had worked in the market place in Via Giordano Bruno for more than 60 years, moved into their new location. From that day on they began to work in their new ‘home’, thus turning over a new page in Turin’s market history.
Some people said that the construction and start-up of this Agrifood Centre took up too much time when compared to the time needed to start the old and glorious market place in Via Giordano Bruno.
This is a fact, but CAAT S.c.p.A. figures, clarify many comparative aspects thus neutralizing this criticism:
- approximately Euro 100 million investment in the facility;
- 440,000 occupied square meters of fenced-in market area;
- 120,000 square meters of covered area;
- 87 established wholesale companies
- 170 local producers from the provinces of Turin, Cuneo and Asti;
- 34 handler cooperatives (700 employees with approximately 650 electric vehicles and trucks);
- 3,000 sq m of offices;
- 4 bars, one with food service
- 2 night safes and ATM ;
- recharge and repair areas for the vehicles used for moving goods, etc. . ;
- 500/550.000 tons of cargo handled annually;
- Euro 500/550 million of business transactions;
Importantly from a logistical point of view, CAAT S.c.p.A. is located on the northern border of the Turin Interport, surrounded by roads which allow easy access for customers from Turin, Piedmont and neighboring regions. CAAT S.c.p.A. is located between Corso Canonico Allamano and the Southern bypass road at Strada del Portone, 10 in Grugliasco (TO).
On 27 November, 1989 CAAT S.c.p.A. was founded, the acronym of which means "Centro Agro Alimentare di Torino Società Consortile per Azioni” (Turin Agrofood Center, a consortium listed on the Stock Exchange).
This company, under the auspices of the municipality of the city and backed by the entrepreneurial union representatives of the old market place in Via Giordano Bruno, as well as by the representatives of the Piedmont Agricultural producers and handlers, having completed all the necessary documentation to gain the funding on July 7, 1995, started preparing the building site. Thus began the construction of what would soon become the third biggest Agrifood Centre in Italy.
| |
January 21, 2002 was a memorable day when the wholesale companies, the agricultural producers, the service companies, suppliers and customers that had worked in the market place in Via Giordano Bruno for more than 60 years, moved into their new location. From that day on they began to work in their new ‘home’, thus turning over a new page in Turin’s market history.
Some people said that the construction and start-up of this Agrifood Centre took up too much time when compared to the time needed to start the old and glorious market place in Via Giordano Bruno.
This is a fact, but CAAT S.c.p.A. figures, clarify many comparative aspects thus neutralizing this criticism:
- approximately Euro 100 million investment in the facility;
- 440,000 occupied square meters of fenced-in market area;
- 120,000 square meters of covered area;
- 87 established wholesale companies
- 170 local producers from the provinces of Turin, Cuneo and Asti;
- 34 handler cooperatives (700 employees with approximately 650 electric vehicles and trucks);
- 3,000 sq m of offices;
- 4 bars, one with food service
- 2 night safes and ATM ;
- recharge and repair areas for the vehicles used for moving goods, etc. . ;
- 500/550.000 tons of cargo handled annually;
- Euro 500/550 million of business transactions;
Importantly from a logistical point of view, CAAT S.c.p.A. is located on the northern border of the Turin Interport, surrounded by roads which allow easy access for customers from Turin, Piedmont and neighboring regions. CAAT S.c.p.A. is located between Corso Canonico Allamano and the Southern bypass road at Strada del Portone, 10 in Grugliasco (TO).