View of Fiat Lingotto Factory in 1928.

Lingotto today.

Test track on roof of old Fiat Lingotto Factory

Lingotto is a district of Turin, Italy, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was an automobile factory built by Fiat. Construction started in 1916 and the building opened in 1923. The design (by young architect Matté Trucco) was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars built on a line that went up through the building. Finished cars emerged at rooftop level, where there was a rooftop test track. It was the largest car factory in the world at that time. For its time, the Lingotto building was avante-garde, influential and impressive—Le Corbusier called it "one of the most impressive sights in industry", and "a guideline for town planning". 80 different models of car were produced there in its lifetime, including the famous Fiat Topolino of 1936.

The factory became outmoded in the 1970s and the decision was made to finally close it in 1982. The closure of the plant led to much public debate about its future, and how to recover from industrial decline in general. An architectural competition was held, which was eventually awarded to Renzo Piano, who envisioned an exciting public space for the city. The old factory was rebuilt into a modern complex, with concert halls, theatre, a convention centre, shopping arcades and a prestigious hotel. The eastern portion of the building instead, is the headquarter of the Automotive Engineering faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin. The work was completed in 1989. The track was however retained and can still be visited today on the top floor of the shopping mall and hotel.

Only in Nessonvaux, Trooz, Belgium did a similar rooftop test track exist. From 1928^[1] to 1958, Imperia had a track over 1 km long which was built partially on top of the factory.

Lingotto public transport[link]

Torino Lingotto railway station is served by a number of regional train lines, as well as the Turin Metro (Lingotto M1). It is a central hub, located in close proximity to Torino's hospitals (such as CTO Hospital (Turin)), parks (Park Valentino and the Lingotto shopping district.

The Lingotto M1 metro station was officially opened on March 6, 2011, connecting Lingotto with Porta Nuova M1 and other connections.

In popular culture[link]

The Lingotto building is featured extensively in the Alberto Lattuada film Mafioso (1962).

The original Lingotto rooftop test track can be seen briefly during the getaway sequence in the film The Italian Job (1969).

Lingotto is also the site of the Oval Lingotto, the speed skating venue for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The building is also featured in the fourth episode of the 20th season of The Amazing Race, originally aired in the US on March 11, 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Photos of Oval Lingotto
• Great Buildings Entry
• Google Earth view of Lingotto
• About the project of Lingotto Exhibition Center

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lingotto

Coordinates: 45°1′57″N 7°39′52″E / 45.0325°N 7.66444°E / 45.0325; 7.66444

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2011)

Ignazio Marino (Genoa, 10 March 1955) is an Italian surgeon, specialising in liver transplantation, and politician in the Democratic Party. He is a member of the Italian Senate,^[1] being first elected in 2006.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Marino was born in Genoa to a Sicilian father and is the eldest of three children (he has two sisters). He graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. He then trained at the Transplant Center of the University of Cambridge and the University of Pittsburgh's Starzl Transplantation Institute.

Medical career[link]

In 1992 he has been appointed Associate Director of the National Liver Transplant Center of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Pittsburgh, the only organ transplant department of the Government of the United States. In 1997 he founded Palermo's ISMETT (Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies), the first liver transplant centre in Sicily – thanks to a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Italian Government – of which he has been Director and CEO. In 2001 he performed the first transplant ever carried out in Italy on an HIV-positive patient undergoing HAART therapy. In 2002 he left his position as Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and became Professor of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Dr. Marino has personally performed over 650 transplants. He has authored 635 scientific publications and 3 scientific books. In 2005 he published a book with Einaudi ("Le Vele" series) entitled "Credere e curare" (Treating and Believing); the book deals with the medical profession and the influence that faith, seen as a religious creed but also as compassion, solidarity and empathy towards all human beings, has upon it. In 2005 he founded Imagine ONLUS, an international non-profit organisation engaged in international solidarity activities with special regard to health issues. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of Transplantation, Liver Transplantation, Clinical Transplantation and 9 other international scientific journals.

The first baboon-to-human liver transplant in medical history[link]

Ignazio Marino was a member of the surgical team which on 28 June 1992 and 10 January 1993 performed the only two baboon-to-human liver xenotransplants in medical history. The first attempts at xenotransplants were made in Europe in 1906, with a goat, a pig and a macaque as kidney donors. All transplants failed following the almost immediate insurgence of vascular thrombosis. Three more attempts were made - one in Europe and two in the United States – over the following 58 years. The first successful transplant dates back to 1964, when Keith Reemtsma of Tulane University transplanted a chimpanzee’s kidney, which functioned for nine months. In 1984 international media reported the dramatic case of Baby Fae, a 2.2 kg newborn infant who received a baboon heart in the Loma Linda University Medical Center and survived twenty days. No more xenotransplants were performed for nearly ten years, until the first two baboon liver transplants performed in 1992 and 1993 at the University of Pittsburgh. The clinical trial was coordinated by Prof. Thomas Starzl, the pioneer surgeon who performed the first liver transplant in humans in 1963, with whom Ignazio Marino worked for over fifteen years and who taught him liver transplant techniques. The transplant with baboon liver was envisaged in those years for the treatment of terminal cirrhosis from chronic hepatitis B virus. Baboons were chosen as donors because – in spite of their different size – they share many of the physiological and genetic characteristics of human beings but are resistant to chronic hepatitis B virus. The first recipient was an HIV-positive 35-year-old man, the second a 62-year-old man. Both had terminal liver failure from hepatitis B. The first patient lived 70 days after the transplant. He spent most of the post-surgery time on a regular hospital ward and maintained nearly normal liver functions. The second, much older patient never regained consciousness; he remained icteric and lived for 26 days. There are still a number of problems to be solved before xenotransplantation can become a reality. The main problem is rejection; others include the need to make sure that xenotransplanted organs function properly in the recipient, and the need to minimize the risk of introducing new infective agents in the human population. Furthermore, there are inevitable problems of an ethical and anthropological nature, from the acceptability of human intervention in terms of species manipulation, to the ethical feasibility of using animals to improve human survival capability and wellbeing. Ethical issues also include the concerns and objections raised by animal protection movements. The two above-mentioned transplants did at the time provoke heated controversies in this regard.

The first kidney transplant on an HIV-positive patient in Italy[link]

In 2001 Ignazio Marino received a request for a kidney transplant from an HIV-positive patient. The young man had addressed most Italian transplant centres but his request had consistently been rejected. Ignazio Marino accepted to examine him, subjected him to all appropriate tests and then judged him fit for a kidney transplant. The man’s father would be the organ donor. News about the transplant aroused doubts and disputes in Italy’s academic and institutional world. In particular, the then Minister of Health, Girolamo Sirchia, declared that that type of operation would have “catastrophic results”. A few months later, Italy’s National Transplant Centre (CNT) reprimanded Ignazio Marino and warned him not to perform any further transplants on HIV-positive patients. To this day, the above patient is alive and in good health condition. After that first transplant on an HIV-positive patient, an ad hoc Committee was established at the CNT to determine whether that type of transplant should be carried out, and nearly three years later a final approval was issued. Today transplants are regularly and successfully performed on HIV-positive patients in Italy, too. The controversy which had emerged at the time was probably less the result of scientific evidence than of a general prejudice towards HIV-positive people. That first transplant performed in 2001 made it possible to open the way to a type of surgery which had been regularly performed in other countries for several years.

Enter into politics[link]

A good friend of Massimo D'Alema, Marino was persuaded by him to enter into politics as an independent candidate with the Democrats of the Left in the 2006 general elections, being consequently elected as a Senator; he has been the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Health since 6 June 2006.

Following the fall of Romano Prodi's government and an early election held in 2008, he was confirmed in the Senate, where he was appointed whip of the Democratic Party in the Standing Committee on Health and Chair of the Investigative Committee on the National Health Care System. In his second tenure as a Senator, Marino gained public exposure due to his strong support for right to die and a clear advance health care directive law during the dramatic final days of Eluana Englaro, which caused widespread debate and a constitutional crisis within Italy. Following such events, Marino has become recognizable in Italian politics as a strong advocate of a lay country, gaining vocal support from left-wing parties and the Italian Radicals, but also being criticized by socially conservative politicians also within the Democratic Party, such as Paola Binetti.

In June 2009 he publicly announced his intention to run as a candidate for the Democratic Party leadership election to be held next October. His leadership election platform is mostly focused on social rights, public health and environmentalism.

See also[link]

• Organ donation
• Xenotransplantation
• Immunosuppressive drugs
• Organ transplant
• Transplant rejection
• Liver Transplantation

References[link]

Metrotorino
Background
Locale	Turin
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	21
Daily ridership	90,000 [1] (2010)[2]
Operation
Began operation	4 February 2006
Operator(s)	Gruppo Torinese Trasporti
Number of vehicles	58 (2009) [3][2]
Train length	52 m (171 ft)
Headway	2 minutes
Technical
System length	13.2 km (8.2 mi)
Average speed	32 km/h (20 mph)
System map

The Metropolitana di Torino (Turin Metro) is a VAL metro system connecting Turin city centre, Italy, with the neighbouring city of Collegno. It is operated by Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (GTT), a public company controlled by the municipality of Turin. At present, the system comprises one line with 21 stations which connects Fermi station in Collegno with the Lingotto multifunctional centre in Turin.

First part of the line was opened on 4 February 2006 before the 2006 Winter Olympics; the second section connecting Porta Susa railway station to Porta Nuova opened on 5 October 2007, and the last part, between Porta Nuova and Lingotto opened on 6 March 2011.

History[link]

Station Fermi during the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The history of metro in Turin begins in 1930s, when the first project of an underground railway was put forward. However, only a part of the first underground tunnel was built, and the actual project was put aside. Nowadays, the tunnel is part of an underground parking system.

A new company committed to the development of a metro system in Turin was founded in 1960s. Several projects and feasibility studies were made for a 7 km underground line under the city centre and then for a line connecting FIAT factories to surrounding neighborhoods, but eventually all the proposals were rejected.

In the mid-80s a new proposal for a system of 5 fast tram lines at-grade was approved. However, only the planned line 3 was built following the original project, while the others eventually were built either as regular tram lines, with no dedicated lane, or as bus lines.

A new project was approved in 1995 for a line running from Campo Volo on the west border of the city to Porta Nuova, the main railway station in Turin. The project was put in hold due to lack of funds.

The project for the underground line was resumed in April 1999 with a longer route to Lingotto based on the VAL system. Works on the line began on 19 December 2000, part of the works for the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. The first section from Fermi to XVIII Dicembre was opened on 4 February 2006, while the second section on the south to Porta Nuova opened on 5 October 2007. Porta Susa station opened later on 9 September 2011.

The last part of the line on the south to Lingotto was inaugurated on 6 March 2011.^[4]

Ticketing[link]

The single journey ticket costs 1.50€ and is valid also outside of the metro for unlimited trips on other public transport in the city for 90 minutes.^[5]

Moreover, any form of urban transport season ticket is valid also for the metro system.^[5]

Timetable[link]

Turin Metro - Line 1

							Fermi
							Paradiso
							Marche
							Massaua
							Pozzo Strada
							Monte Grappa
							Rivoli
							Racconigi
							Bernini
							Principi d'Acaja
							XVIII Dicembre
							Porta Susa
							Vinzaglio
							Re Umberto
							Porta Nuova FS
							Marconi
							Nizza
							Dante
							Carducci-Molinette
							Spezia
							Lingotto

Turin metro starts operations at 5:30 from Monday to Saturday (at 7:00 on Sundays) and closes at 23:50. There is a service extension in weekends, when the metro closes at 1:30.^[6]

Plans[link]

Map of Turin Metro with planned extensions

Line 1[link]

Two additional stations are planned to reach the Southern boundary of the city, under Piazza Bengasi. Construction of this southern extension will not be completed until 2013.

A further Western extension is planned to reach the boundaries of Collegno and reach Cascine Vica district in the city of Rivoli. The plan comprises four additional stations, included Collegno FS which will interchange with the central railway station of the city of Collegno.^[7]

Line 2[link]

A second line is currently under planning. The line will connect South-Western suburbs of the city (Orbassano and Beinasco) with northern district of Barriera di Milano. First 26 stations are already defined, starting from Mirafiori Sud district to Barriera di Milano, crossing the Line 1 at Re Umberto station and serving key points as Politecnico di Torino University and Piazza Castello, one of the major central squares of the city.

Part of the Southern track will be elevated to reduce building costs (starting from Piazza Cattaneo to Cimitero Sud. On Northern side, from Vanchiglia to Rebaudengo, it will follow an old (currently abandoned) railway track, which was used to connect the old and abandoned scalo Vanchiglia to the main Turin railway.

A 4 stations extension is planned to cover suburbs of Beinasco and Orbassano and to reach terminus Pasta di Rivalta in the city of Rivalta di Torino.

See also[link]

• List of rapid transit systems
• List of suburban and commuter rail systems

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Metrotorino

• Official GTT Website (Italian)
• Turin Metro Infrastructure
• Metrotorino at UrbanRail.Net
• Metrotorino at metros.hu (Hungarian)
• Photos
• Site with information and picture of Metrotorino (Italian)

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Renato Soru
President of Sardinia
In office 2004–2009
Preceded by	Italo Masala
Succeeded by	Ugo Cappellacci
Personal details
Born	(1957-08-26) 26 August 1957 (age 54) Sanluri, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Democratic Party

Renato Soru (born 26 August 1957) is an Italian entrepreneur, the founder of the internet service company Tiscali, based in Cagliari. He was born in Sanluri, Sardinia.

Forbes listed him as one of the world's richest people, with a net worth of over $4 billion (US) as of September 2001. He holds a University degree from the Bocconi University in Milan. In 2004 Soru was elected President of the Sardinia Region with the center-left coalition with an audacious program to reinvigorate the economy within the island by introducing external investors, but on 28 November 2008 he resigned from his position. He ran again for President of Sardinia in the February 2009 election but was defeated by the right-wing Popolo della Libertà candidate Ugo Cappellacci.

On 20 May 2008 Soru bought the left-wing newspaper l'Unità.

External links[link]

• Forbes article
• Forbes listing from "World's Richest People"
• "DOES SORU REALLY PLAY MAPLE STORY?" NY Times article

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