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Wikimania 2007 candidate cities. Winner: Taipei
Other candidates: Alexandria | London | Torino

View of Turin
Torino by night

City details

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The city at a glance

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Interior view of the "Palazzina di caccia" in Stupinigi

Torino is one of the main cities in Italy, with about 900,000 inhabitants over a surface of 130 square kilometers: it is the fourth Italian city by population and an industrial town by tradition.
The city is located in Piedmont, Italy's most northwestern region, on the banks of the Po River and of the Dora Riparia river. Downtown, the street plan is unchanged from the time when the place was called Augusta Taurinorum by the Romans; built around a Roman encampent (castrum), the main decumanus is still alive in Via Garibaldi, one of the most appealing streets of the modern city.

Torino has had a strong influence in both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, becoming the first Italian capital city in the XIX century and home of the House of Savoy, the ruling family who created Italy as we know it. In the last century was the undisputed leader of Italian industry.
The city has a rich artistic and industrial history (e.g. the World Heritage sites Residences of the Royal House); both the artistic and the industrial legacy have disinctively shaped the architecture, landscape and people, creating a recognizable Piedmontese feeling that is based on a gracious and kind activeness.

The climate is Mediterranean, usually sunny in the summer and often windy (avg. temp. in August 24 °C - 75 °F), enjoying both the Ligurian Sea and the highest mountains (the Alps) at short distance.

Torino can offer a sparkling nightlife, in the inner city as well as in the surrounding small towns; full of live music, restaurants, dances, artists, aperitivi (a "must" of Italian style you can't miss!), wineries, parks, night bookshops...
During the day, while recovering from the crazy night, you can taste the unique chocolate of the original "giandujotto", and enjoy some of the famous museums hosted by the city.

Conference venue

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Actually, our effort has resulted in two alternative venues to choose from, each with related accommodation. In both cases, they will be provided at no cost for Wikimania through various sponsorships.

Option 1

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Venue: Lingotto

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Tha red arch is the footbridge, the oval building is the Lingotto and on the right is Lingotto Fiere

Built in 1916 around the main factory works for Fiat, Italy's biggest carmaker, the Lingotto district has been transformed in the 1980s into a versatile, multi-purpose infrastructure suited for a wide range of events. The new Lingotto was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano with an eye to preserving its historical heritage (such as the landmark oval car test track on the main building rooftop) while supplementing it with modern facilities (such as the helipad and the glass bubble conference room).

The district features such venues as the Oval Lingotto indoor arena, which hosted the skating events for the XX Olympic Winter Games and a modern, fully-equipped exhibitions and conventions center with more than 50,000 square metres indoor space, going by the name of Lingotto Fiere (website).

The conventions area offers several already-equipped conference rooms, suited for groups from 90 to 600 people; the following table offers details for the biggest and smallest of them. Additionally, temporary convention rooms can be set up in any of the pavillions, with a wide range of options. All the spaces are air conditioned.

Room name Number of seats Technical equipment Total price
Sala Gialla 600 Wireless Internet connectivity; 1 motorized screen; 4 fixed, 1 wireless microphones; 8-channel audio console w/ recording; 6 200-W loudspeakers; lights control console [1] € 9,500.00 (12,100 US$)
paid by our sponsors
Sala Verde 90 Wireless Internet connectivity; 1 motorized screen; 4 fixed, 1 wireless microphones; 8-channel audio console w/ recording; ceiling speakers [2] € 3,400.00 (4,300 US$)
paid by our sponsors
Other rooms [3] 5 rooms, 100 seats each To be rented later, depending on what is needed. tbd, € 44,000.00 (55,900 US$)
but covered by sponsorships
Speakers rooms 4/5 rooms, plus press area All offices have phones and are in perfect conditions. A fully-equipped Press Room provides plenty of space for interviews, speeches, media events and meeting with journalists.
  1. ↑ 50 multi outlet power strips (european standard, 230V 50Hz) are available, to be set for laptops and other devices.
  2. ↑ For real time translations we will provide an external service
  3. ↑ Other rooms will be set up ex-novo in padiglione 3, a kind of Wiki Village.
How to get there

Lingotto Fiere is located in the city center of Torino. Please see the Transportation section below for information about reaching the city.

By bus: From the nearby Lingotto train station (about 10 min.); from Porta Nuova train station: line 1, 18 or 35 (about 20 min.); from Porta Susa train station: line 1 (about 30 min.).
By car: All motorways coming into Torino feed into the Torino ring road; we recommend you take the Corso Unità d'Italia exit and follow the signs for "Lingotto Fiere".

Accommodation: Olympic Village

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This accommodation option is paired with conference venue option 1, Lingotto.


Location of main accommodation facilities

The Torino Olympic Village is adjacent to the conference venue, connected to the Lingotto Fiere area by a footbridge.

The Torino Olympic Village can house up to 2,500 persons, over an area of over 100,000 square metres.

There is a services area within the Olympic Village. There will also be an ample parking area for the guests.

At the centre of the complex is the restored historic building of the Mercati Generali (General Markets) that dates back to 1934.
All facilities are newly built, in perfect conditions, and meet or exceed the most recent IOC standards for accommodation about accessibility, environmental friendliness, etc. (The Village was designed with a bio-architectural approach to building: photovoltaic cells and panels, a district heating network and air solar systems for ventilation, etc.).

Room details and price range

Single and double rooms are available, kindly paid by Comune di Torino.

Organizing steps

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Contacts with conference venue and with accommodation partners.

Contacts resulted in a very positive and friendly partnership since the first stages of the event organization.

Done
Financing for locations: fully paid by Comune di Torino (Turin Municipality) Done
Extra services:
  • Lunches will be provided to all participants free of charge by Regione Piemonte
    Catering service will be at the on-site "Ciao" Restaurant (440 seats, self-service). Lunch is a 3-course meal (first, second, side dish + bottled water or soft drink). Ciao is a brand of an internationally well-known catering company (Gruppo Autogrill), respecting any dietary restrictions or other special requirements from our guests will not be an issue.
 Done
Gallery

Some views of the Lingotto and past events hosted at Lingotto Fiere...

  • The 5-storey builiding has a car ramp leading to the oval test track on the roof
    The 5-storey builiding has a car ramp leading to the oval test track on the roof

Option 2

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Venue: Politecnico di Torino

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The Politecnico di Torino is the technical university (engineering and architecture schools) of the city. It was founded in 1906, when the surrounding country was about to begin a new industrial era (Fiat was founded in 1899), but its origins go back further. It was preceded by the Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri (Technical School for Engineers) founded in 1859 after the Casati Act and the Museo Industriale Italiano (Italian Industry Museum) founded in 1862 under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Industry.

We will have the Main Room Giovanni Agnelli (495 seats) and the first floor rooms facing on the inner court: all rooms are air conditioned.

Politecnico di Torino

The following table offers technical details about this venue:

Room name Number of seats Technical equipment Price per day
Aula Magna "Giovanni Agnelli" 495 Wi-Fi Internet connectivity; screen projector; audio recording system none
Five halls about 100 each Wi-Fi Internet connectivity; screen projector; audio recording system can be easily set up none
Speakers rooms 4/5 rooms, plus press area  
Note: Real-time interpreting will be provided through an external service
How to get there

The Politecnico di Torino is located near the city center of Torino. Please see the Transportation section below for information about reaching the city.

  • From Porta Nuova Station:
    • On foot: exit the station on the left side and cross the street (via Sacchi) to its right side, under the arcade. Go straight on till you reach the T junction with corso Stati Uniti and turn right into this street. The third major crossroad is corso Duca degli Abruzzi, where you turn left. Approximately 100 metres into this street, you will find the main entrance to the Politecnico on the right.
    • By taxi: exiting the station on the left side, you will find the taxi ranks.
    • By bus: proceeding as for "on foot", you will find the terminus of the No. 33 line near the corner of via Sacchi. The fourth stop of this busline leaves you at the main entrance to the Politecnico in corso Duca degli Abruzzi.
  • From Porta Susa Station:
    • On foot: exiting the station, you will find yourself in piazza XVIII Dicembre. Go straight on directly in front of you (via Cernaia) and at the first major crossroad turn right into corso Vinzaglio. After approximately one kilometre, corso Vinzaglio becomes corso Duca degli Abruzzi. The Politecnico is situated not far beyond the junction with corso Stati Uniti, on the right hand side of corso Duca degli Abruzzi.
    • By taxi: exiting Porta Susa Station, you will see the taxi ranks.
    • By bus: exiting the station, you will find a city bus stop directly in front of you. Take the No. 10 line that goes towards via Cernaia (or alternatively the tram that runs to the right). Getting off at the third stop leaves you at the main entrance to the Politecnico.
Politecnico, FLOSS and Wikimedia Italia

Politecnico di Torino estabilished open@polito the Centro di Competenza per l'open source e il software libero (Competence Center for open source and free software) for the promotion of FLOSS and OpenContent philosophy. The Center's activities follow 5 different directions:

  • Research
  • Labs
  • Technological transfer to enterprises
  • FLOSS and OpenContent distribution
  • Knowledge transfer

The activity of open content distribution is managed by linux@studenti. Linux@studenti's servers make up a significant share of the traffic going out of the whole Politecnico's network. Many of linux@studenti's products (CDs and press articles) were published in several Italian magazines. Linux@studenti has a long-standing partnership with Wikimedia Italia board, being involved in the development of it.wikipedia.org on DVD.

Accommodation: Residenza Universitaria Borsellino

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This accommodation option is paired with conference venue option 2, Politecnico di Torino.

Location of main accommodation facilities

The Residenza Universitaria Borsellino has been built in 2006 to host the Media Village during the latest Winter Olympic Games. It is located in a former industrial area, very near and well connected to the Politecnico.
Being a newly built complex, it can guarantee high comfort and quality standards for all guests in a clean, lit and modern environment.

Room details and price range

There are 316 single rooms with shower and bathroom (20 of which equipped for disabled persons) and 44 double rooms with bath and shower. There are a receiving-only phone, air conditioning, internet and TV links, and a refrigerator in every room.
Phone booths, food dispensers, newspaper library, photocopiers, laundry, kitchen, gym, bicicle parking, PC room and lounges are present in the complex, and could be made available.
All rooms, as in Option 1, are kindly paid by Comune di Torino

Organizing steps

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Contacts with conference venue and with accommodation partners.

Partners were very kind and eager to help here as in other tasks of organization.

Done
Financing for locations: kindly offered by Politecnico di Torino Done
Extra services:
  • Lunches will be provided to all participants free of charge by the Politecnico. Catering service will be on-site, at the Politecnico canteen (self-service).
 Done

Party time

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We have a preliminary agreement with some appealing locations in Torino, both for the opening party and for the VIP party.

Wikimedia Cocktail Night

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The Hiroshima Mon Amour, despite the "strange" name, it's an historical bar, music lounge and concert hall, well-known in Torino's night life. It is situated exactly in front of the Olympic Village and can easily host more than 500 people. No extra cost for renting the whole space, drinks at really reduced rates.

Another, smaller, choice could be the Lobelix (via Corte d'Appello, 15/f), a two-floors cocktail bar in the heart of Torino, seating 150-200 people inside plus standings, plus the garden area: it can easily host 300 people in a friendly and young atmosphere. Lobelix can provide aperitivi, Happy Hour and cocktails: relaxing music, sofas, and colorful environment as a "side dish". No extra cost for renting the whole space, only drinks.

In 2006 the Lobelix was the house of the Canadian Hockey national team in the last Winter Olympics, and hosted corporate parties as BMW's as well.

VIP's meeting

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Our first proposal is the restaurant in the clubhouse of the historical (founded 1886) rowing club Esperia Torino. The clubhouse is not far from the Lingotto and even if it's not far from Torino downtown it is in a very quiet location in an ancient Villa on the Monte dei Cappuccini on the bank of the river Po. It also has a beautiful terrace on the river. (We already had a preliminary contact with the restaurant, more details tomorrow)


The alternative is the Shore Cocktail Club (P.zza Emanuele Filiberto 10/C). It's another great place in Torino, a classy cocktail bar in the very heart of the Quadrilatero, home of the city's best nightlife: it is big enough for 200+ people, on two floors. In an external dehor standing on the plaza, every evening a buffet is served with cocktails from the whole world.
Its fittings are inspired by the Miami's Shore Club, with precious woods and dimmed lights, a little bit of lounge music, giving a posh and relaxing style to the place.
It will be possible to arrange for dining or lunch, too, depending on what kind of event is expected.
It is often booked by the city biggest lawyers firms, by Fiat or other corporate management for private parties and meetings, as well as by large scale speed-dating events: early booking will solve the problem. Property ensured that if a smaller place is needed, there won't be any problem in giving us one of the suites.

Hanging out...

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In both options there will be plenty of space allocated to the community "social" activities (in both options Wi-Fi access is available):

  • Option 1 - Lingotto: We can use, at our wish, the whole offices area on the first floor, (see: Map) so we can easily designate one of the rooms as "hanging out space". Another choice for this part is setting up the padiglione 3, where the planned conference rooms will "use" only part of the available space. Yet another really appealing choice could be to create a hanging out space in the main Lingotto building (just near the Lingotto Fiere) which has a very nice hall.
  • Option 2 – Polito: we can allocate a 100-seats room for this. Coffee would not be free but the Polito agreed to open one or both internal cafeterias, where prices are far lower than in outside businesses. Polito also has an internal court-yard but that could be used, but considering summer temperatures it would be more confortable to remain in a room with air conditioning. However, if we like we can have both. Corridors are also freely usable to hang out.
Both options are available only during the day (availability can be extended after business hours, but not 24h); as for a hang-out place in the accommodation site, we will arrange it in detail after bidding but we are confident we'll find a nice and suitable solution together with the technical sponsors.

About free coffee, please consider that some major italian coffee brands have their headquarters in Torino. We are going to contact them in order to be able to provide attendees with some tasteful, typically italian "Espresso"...

Transportation

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Location of Turin in Southwestern Europe

Torino has strong links with France; it is served by several motorways offering a speedy connection to nearby France and Switzerland (through the Alps) and other northern Italy cities such as Bologna, Genoa and Milan, and is part of the Lyon-Turin-Venice-Trieste-Budapest train axis. For long-distance travel, several airports are located at a convenient distance from the city.

By air

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Mole Antonelliana

Landing in Torino

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The city airport, Torino Caselle, is only 16 km from the city centre, which can be reached by the following means:

  • Train: Probably the easiest way. Every 30 minutes from about 05:00 until 21:00, trains depart from Torino Caselle train station (150 metres from the airport) headed for Dora, Porta Susa and Lingotto train stations in the city. Travel time to Dora is approximately 20 minutes. One-way tickets cost € 3 (3,80 US$).
  • Bus: Every 30 minutes from the early hours in the morning until midnight, a bus connects the airport (just outside the Arrivals Hall, in front of the domestic/EU flights exit) with the city centre (near Porta Nuova train station, on the corner between Via Sacchi and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II). The bus also stops at Porta Susa train station. One-way tickets cost € 5 (6,35 US$) if bought in advance (available at both terminals), € 5,50 (7 US$) if bought on board.
  • Taxi: The taxi rank at Torino Caselle is located outside the Arrivals Hall, in front of the domestic/EU flights exit.
  • Own/rented car: The motorway coming from the airport links up directly to the motorway network that gets into town (ring road); please see the venue and accommodation sections for further directions.

Landing in Milano

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Valentino's Castle

The Milano area is the main hub for air transportation in Northern Italy, and one of the biggest in southern Europe. It hosts three international airports and serves both the "regular" airlines and low-cost flights.

Malpensa international airport and the Linate International Airport both feature very easy access to Milan main station (30 min.) through train and bus shuttle services. There is also a direct shuttle from Malpensa to Turin's center. The Milan-Turin railway offers a normal train (travel time: 1 h 50 mins, price: € 8, 10 US$) and a high-speed train (1 h 30 mins, € 15, 19 US$) every hour, arriving at either Porta Susa or Porta Nuova train stations. Both can be booked in advance on the Trenitalia website.

For low-cost flyers, the Orio al Serio International Airport (Milan BGY) is served by the main cheap flight companies such as EasyJet, RyanAir, BerlinAir, etc. From the airport there is a shuttle bus every 10-20 minutes, arriving to Milan main station in 35-40 min. Trains are the same as above.

Air travel costs estimate

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The following table lists approximate travel costs by plane from all continents to Turin International Airport, based on information gathered by online booking sites at the time of the bid. Offers may be subject to limitations and prices may vary significantly according to time of reservation. Prices are given in local currency, € and US$, for 1 return ticket. Please note that other travel options are available below.

Continent City Minimum fare
(return ticket) 		Carrier / notes
North America New York US$ 945 (€ 745) British Airways
Los Angeles US$ 925 (€ 730) US Airways
South America Buenos Aires ARS 5,200 (€ 1,325, 1,680 US$) Lufthansa
Europe Frankfurt € 230, 292 US$
€ 120, 152 US$ 		Expedia.de
Air Dolomiti
London GBP 61 (€ 91, 115 US$)
GBP 16 (€ 24, 30 US$) 		expedia.de (from Gatwick)
Ryanair (from Stansted)
Brussels € 15, 19 US$ Ryanair (from Charleroi)
Asia and
Middle East 		Tokyo YPY 136,000 (€ 1,000, 1,160 US$) Lufthansa
Beijing CNY 7,300 (€ 745, 920 US$) Finnair
Dehli INR 45,000 (€ 765, 975 US$) British Airways
Tel Aviv ILS 2,930 (€ 527, 680 US$) Austrian Airlines
Africa Johannesburg ZAR 8,350 (€ 900, 1,130 US$) Lufthansa
Australia Sydney AUD 2,720 (€ 1,612, 2,050 US$) British Airways

By train

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European train distances from Turin, as of september 2006. The orange line encompasses the areas from where one can reach Turin by train in <10 hours.

Attendees coming from France, Spain and Central Europe should consider coming by train, since Turin is a quite important railway junction along the Lyon-Turin-Venezia-Trieste-Budapest train axis. High-speed trains coming from Spain and France (TGV) arrive at Porta Susa train station, other trains coming from France stop at Porta Nuova. The Italian railways, Trenitalia, have a comprehensive website for domestic and international train information and online booking.

Train travel costs estimate

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  • France:
    • a TGV departs from Paris Gare de Lyon reaching Torino in 5h 21', arriving at mid-day, or in the evening. About € 120-180 (150-230 US$) for a return ticket before discounts, which occur fairly often.
    • From Paris Bercy a normal train reparts in the evening, reaching Milan early in the morning and going back to Turin. Arrival at 7.50 A.M., total time 11h 20', mostly in EuroNight class. Return ticket: from € 150-220 (180-280 US$) in 6-bed coach, € 290 (370 US$) in 2-bed coach.
    • From other cities of France a lot of regular trains arrive to Torino through Modane or Ventimiglia
  • Spain
    • From Barcelona Estació de Francia departs a direct train to Torino Porta Susa every day, leaving at 20.40 and reaching destination at 7.30 A.M. after a 10h 50' trip. Price is € 286 (363 US$) return ticket in a 4-bed coach. It is better to book well in advance, due to limited seat availability.
    • From Madrid two routes are available on alternate days: One through Paris Austerlitz/Gare de Lyon, taking almost 25 hours, and one through Barcelona taking almost 19 hours. Both routes have a very strict seat availability, so booking well in advance is suggested. Prices vary according to day and availability.
  • Germany
    • From Munchen HBF a Eurocity and an Intercity reach Torino through the Brenner Pass with one change in Verona, total time 9h 8', arriving in the evening, for about € 150 (190 US$) return ticket.

Other examples of train fares and travel times from European cities to Turin (prices are indicative, one-way, 1 adult, 2nd class where available):

  • Ljubljana - Torino Porta Susa - 9 h 15 m - € 70,68 (90 US$)
  • London Waterloo International - Torino Porta Susa - 9 h 37 m - (through Paris)
  • Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof - Torino Porta Nuova - 11 h 13 m - € 119,08 (150 US$)
  • Budapest Kelenfoeld - Torino Porta Susa - 19 h 00 m - € 85,68 (110 US$)

By sea

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Attendees coming from places near Barcelona, Bastia, Malta and Northern Africa (Tangier and Tunis) could take into consideration arriving at the harbour of Genova. It takes less than two hours to reach Torino by train.

Wikipedians from Greece, Turkey and Balcan countries could reach Ancona by ferry, and then move to Torino in 5-7 hours by train. From Athens whole trip, return included, costs about € 145 (185 US$).

By road

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Torino and surrounding motorways

Torino is located about 100 km from the French and Swiss borders. Wikipedians coming from southern and central Europe can easily reach the city by car, especially through the following motorways:

  • A4/E64 Torino - Milano (E35, E41, E43 to Switzerland & Germany) - Brescia
  • A5/E25 Torino - Aosta - Mont Blanc - France (A40 to Mâcon) - Switzerland (E25 to Geneva)
  • A6/E717 Torino - Savona, then A10 Savona - Imperia - France (A8/E80 to Nice - Côte d'Azur - Aix-en-Provence)
  • A21/E70 Torino - Piacenza - Brescia - Verona (E45 to Austria & Germany) - Venezia - Trieste (E55 to Austria & Germany) - Zagreb - Belgrade
  • A32/E70 Torino - Bardonecchia - Fréjus - France (A43 to Lyon)

Please note that overall distances are often relatively short in Europe; Milan is only 140 km (87 miles) away from Turin, Florence and Venice 400 km (250 miles), Rome 675 km (420 miles).

In the city

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Moving around the city will be easy: lots of buses, a brand new subway, and a cross-city railway will help as public services, while renting a car won't be difficult at all, either in Turin or at your arrival in Milan (€ 200-240 (250-300US$) per week for a city car, € 300-400 (380-500 US$) per weekw for a bigger one with Avis, Hertz or Opodo). Car sharing is available in different locations of the city

Turin center is not that big, so public transports and walking will do nicely: if you plan to visit the sourrounding area outside of main towns, a car is advised.

Price for public trasport is 0,90€ (1,15 US$) per use, but discounts are available (15 runs for € 12,50, 16 US$). For a global map of public transport and mobility services in Turin, visit the GTT website.

In Torino it is possible to buy a Card (called Torino Card), which at the cost of € 16 (10 US$) for 48 hours or € 18 (23 US$) for 72 hours allows free use of all urban and suburban public means of transport, free entrance in 140 museums, exhibitions, castles, more info in this pdf: also in english and french). It is also possible to rent a bike for € 18 (23 US$) per week (2006 price), reductions with Torino Card.

Costs for attendees

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  • for several months, we have been working toghether with our sponsoring groups and the result of our common effort is that for both options the following costs are already covered:
  • Accommodation
  • Lunch
  • Use of conference facilities, including WiFi or terminal-based Internet access
  • Free phone and free of charge hot-spot access in the whole city

The attendees will have to pay only for:

  • Breakfast (in Italy the usual breakfast consists of Cappuccino and croissants - total cost per day around € 1,60 (2 US$) - in university cafeteria prices are lower)
  • Dinner: for a really unexpensive solution, the Lingotto main building is housing a big shopping center with lots of fast-food restaurants (see the listing under "Ristorazione" in the linked page). For attendees who wish to eat nicely in some typical restaurants the local team will provide useful information and company! In our opinion, Piedmontese food is an experience that shouldn't be missed, but many ethnic alternatives are available. A typical dinnner may cost € 15-25 (20-32 US$), while in a fast-food restaurant you can count on spending about € 6-10 (7,5-12,5 US$). Fine dining is more expensive, of course.
  • Transfer from the airport: for attendees landing in Milan we are confident that we will find some convenient solutions since there are lots of wikimanians in Milan who will attend.
  • Transport in Torino: like in all Italian cities, public transportation in Torino is really inexpensive (€ 0,90 - 1,15 US$ for a 70-minutes ticket).

Visa and medical information

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Italy is an EU member and signed the Schengen Agreement. Therefore citizens coming from the countries that signed the agreement have no entry limitations. Although a personal ID document is no longer necessary to cross the internal Schengen-area borders, due to the safety procedures at the airports people is normally asked to prove their identity.

No visa needed All passengers from the "Schengen zone" (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) can freely access the Italian territory. UK, Ireland and Switzerland citizens do not need a visa, but a valid ID document.

Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia are in the Schengen zone but the agreement is not implemented yet. Citizens from these countries need a valid ID document.

No visa needed for visits up to a maximum of 90 days, for tourism, on missions, business, invitations ought to take part in sports events:Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia,El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Malta , Macao, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Singapore, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

A valid personal document is anyway needed for airport operations.

Visa needed Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belorus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoro Islands, Congo, Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican (Republic), East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Granada, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Republic of), Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Northern Marianas, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian National Authority, Papua-New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Taiwan, (non-recognized territorial entity), Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Western Samoa, Yemen, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro), Zambia, Zimbabwe
Dark blue - Schengen Agreement members, Blue - Signatories (agreement not yet implemented - Yellow - Expressed interest in joining

More info are available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site and on the EU site

Medical service

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European travellers are entitled to free first aid and medical service: they just have to bring with them their European Card issued by the medical service of their country of origin.

There are no endemic illnesses or serious health threats in Italy, so usually no specific prophylaxis is needed.

On-site medical assistance will be available at Lingotto as part of the rental agreement.

Local sponsorships

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Turin by night

Sponsors which already confirmed their support and take active part in this bid:

  • Regione Piemonte will provide accommodation and catering (lunch) to all participants at no additional cost for the duration of the event. Accommodation is also provided at the same conditions starting Tuesday through Monday.
  • Politecnico di Torino will provide the conference halls and the cafeteria at no additional cost for the participants.
  • TOP-IX is taking care of the bid and will look after the technical details.
  • Comune di Torino (Turin City Council) is providing premises to host some of the events.
  • Università di Torino (University of Turin) is contributing promoting and supporting the event.
  • Tex97 (Phone operator and Internet Service Provider) will provide to all subcribers and logistic team free phone callings and free of charge hot-spot access distribuited in the city
  • AlfaLayer.com (IT systems integration and business development company)

Other possible sponsors:

  • This project found support from several public agencies involved in the ICT field which are expressing interest to participate. We are coordinating in order to organize events and opportunities about free knowledge and knowledge sharing.
  • Since the main "problems" (i.e. venue and accomodation) are already solved we are taking contacts with a lot of different sponsors for supporting us in some "nice to have" little things which are perhaps not essential but would make the time in Torino more pleasant did we mention that Torino has a strong tradition in chocolate production? ;- )


Support of different organizations

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Local team

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(Who stands behind this bid, who will be able to help locally, names, language spoken, and what they can help with)

Bidding team

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Frieda
Chair of Wikimedia Italia 		[it] [en]
Paginazero
Deputy chair of Wikimedia Italia 		[it] [en] [ru]
Nick1915
Member of Wikimedia Italia board 		[it] [en] [es] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Sbisolo
Member of Wikimedia Italia board 		[it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Ilario
Chair of Wikimedia CH 		[it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff [de]
Civvì [it] [en] [de]
Gatto Nero [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff [de]
Jollyroger [it] [en] [es]
piero_tasso [it] [en]
Sabine [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff [de]
Snowdog [it] [en] [es] Photographs for use by ETS Staff [pt]
Rudolf [it] [en]
AUgo
open@polito - Politecnico di Torino 		[it]
Lp / BrokenArrow [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff

Support from local academia and other institution

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ARM
Politecnico di Torino 		[it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
JCDM
Creative Commons Italia 		[it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Mario Rasetti

Professor of Theoretical Physics, Politecnico of Torino, Italy - ISI

Riccardo Zecchina

Senior Research Scientist - Professor at ICTP, Trieste, Italy - ISI

Alessandro Vespignani

Senior Research Scientist - Professor of Informatics and Physics, University of Indiana, USA - ISI

Sorin Solomon

Senior Research Scientist - Professor of Theoretical Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel - ISI

Julien Masanès

Cofounder and Director of the European Archive

EnricoV

Head Information System Security of Politecnico di Torino
open@polito - Politecnico di Torino

[it] [en]

Will support if chosen

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Arno Lagrange Photographs for use by ETS Staff [eo] [en] [de]
Almit39 [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Auro [it] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Blakwolf [it] Photographs for use by ETS Staff [es] [en]
Dardorosso [it] [en] [pt]
DracoRoboter [it] [en]
EdoM [it] [en]
Err [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Fantasy 容 [it] [de]
Gia.cossa [it] [en]
Gvf [it] [en]
Helios [it] [en]
Iron Bishop [it] [en]
Jacopo86 [it] [en] [de]
Kal-El [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
Laurentius [it] [en] [es]
Lelly [it] Photographs for use by ETS Staff [en] [es]
Madaki [it]
Marcok [it] [en] Photographs for use by ETS Staff
.mau. [it] [en] [de]
Nihil1 [it]
Senpai [it] [en]
superClaudio [it] [en]
Leoman3000 [it]
Tooby [it] [en] [de] [es] [ru]
Tinette [it] [en]
it:Abragad/en:Alessio [it] [en]

Miscellaneous

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Anything you feel should be brought to the attention of the jury.

More..

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We have some ideas in our mind, but they need further developement:

  • Many of us have kids and being it August they are on holiday. Parents might find it easier to participate if a place where kids can stay would be available. We might create a local kindergarten for the period.
  • Media: arcoiris.tv is available to discuss a possible coverage of the event. All the press offices involved in the candidacy of Turin are committed to achieve the largest media visibility to the event exploiting all the possible communication instruments (internet sites, blog, contacts with national television, web tv, radio, web radio).
  • Piedmont has one of the most beautiful hill panoramas in Italy, crossed by the historical Canavese railway. We are checking partnerships with local associations and firms to organize a special train made with a steam locomotive and coaches of the 1910s.
  • Being in Italy, Torino can grant the chance for a lot of wikipedians to visit other famous places, like Venezia, Firenze, Bologna, Cinque terre etc. that are easy and cheap to reach by train. Some italian wikipedians could give logistic support and organize some guided tours.
  • A phone number will be activated to provide support to travellers, helping in every issue about Wikimania, Turin and Piedmont

Our deep reasons

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We are very excited at the possibility of holding the Wikimania 2007 in Turin. Turin is putting a great deal of effort into strengthening its position as one of the leading European locations for ICT. Turin is already one of the most important districts for innovation and technology in the automotive and telecommunication industry in Europe.

Town Hall

There are several technology, training and research centres in Piedmont: Turin University, Turin Polytechnic, Eastern Piedmont University, six Technology Parks and numerous public Research Institutes (among others the Galileo Ferraris National Electrotechnical Institute and the Mario Boella Institute for ICT), several important private research centres (TiLab, the Motorola research centre, Centro Ricerche Fiat, and the Rai research centre). The use of technologies related to the automation of the manufacturing process (robots, CAD-CAM techniques, etc.) is the highest among Italian industrial areas and one of the highest in Europe, Turin is considered the European capital of robotics. There is a huge number of companies operating in the ICT field and the development of wireless technology. Active participation in the Information Society and investments in the field of e-government are demostrating the importance Piedmont is giving to communication technologies as a mean to evolve the services of the local government.

Turin is a city very focused on the themes of the open source and the knowledge as common wealth. Events, conferences, meetings about these themes happen regularly in town attracting big and interested audiences. The "Centro di Competenza sul software libero del Politecnico di Torino" (Competency Center about free software of the Politecnico di Torino [1]) is a pilot experience in Italy in this field. Its director, prof. Angelo Raffaele Meo, is also chairperson of the Italian governative commission for studying the open source.
Turin is also the Italian seat of Creative Commons Italia.

Hosting the Wikimania 2007 is the kind of high profile initiative that would suitably complement the broad portfolio of teaching, training and research activities that the city of Turin is assembling in order to become the leading European city in ICT.

Torino for travellers: To visit (and to taste..)

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The Palace of Stupinigi / Residences of the Royal House of Savoy

Torino, that was capital of Italy until 1865, offers to all visitors many attractives:

External links:

Travellers with special requirement

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We will try to comply with any special needs of our guests

  • Different foods for people with religious or ethical codex of behaviour, as Kosher, Halal, Vegetarian, Vegan and so. Availability could be dependent on request, but we will try to provide these services together with local associations or religious communities.
  • Services for mobility for disabled people: support in finding transport solutions by checking availability of HK service on specific trains, arranging transports on request, barrier-free spaces...
  • If needed, a service for hearing impaired guests could be set up with help of local international sign language translator or by preparing visual material for specific use.
  • Accomodation in the same room for disabled people's helping companion could be easily arranged in both the venues.

Turin on Wikipedia

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The Po river in Torino

af:Turyn · ar:تورينو · be:Турын (горад) · bg:Торино · br:Torino · bs:Torino · ca:Torí · cs:Turín · cv:Турин · cy:Torino · da:Torino · de:Turin · en:Turin · eo:Torino · es:Turín · et:Torino · eu:Turin · fi:Torino · fr:Turin · he:טורינו · hr:Torino · hu:Torino · hy:Թուրին · id:Torino · is:Tórínó · it:Torino · ja:トリノ · ko:토리노 · la:Taurinum · lb:Turin · lmo:Turin · lt:Turinas · lv:Turīna · mr:तोरिनो · nap:Turino · nl:Turijn (stad) · nn:Torino · no:Torino · oc:Turin · pl:Turyn · pms:Turin · pt:Turim · ro:Torino · ru:Турин · sh:Torino · simple:Turin · sk:Turín · sl:Torino · sr:Торино · sv:Turin · tr:Torino · uk:Турін · vi:Torino · zh:都靈

Sightseeing: Turin in the eyes of foreigners

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Self-evaluation

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International events 2006
XX Olympic Winter Games
Torino World Book Capital 2006
International Book Fair
XXXVII International Chess Olympics
Gay Pride 2006
LXXX World Fencing Championship
International Taste Fair "Salone del Gusto"
Terra Madre 2006
International Fair of Contemporary Art
International Torino Film Festival
Future events (2007-2008)
Torino 2007 Winter Universiade
(17th – 27th January 2007)
IUPAC World Chemistry Congress and General Assembly (August 2007)
Torino 2008 World Design Capital
World Congress of Architecture
(July 2008)
  • Weaknesses of the proposed location ...and how to overcome those weaknesses
  1. Torino has only one airport, with a not-so-wide range of direct connections
    Solution: Torino can be easily reached by train or coach from other airports in the area (Milano Malpensa, Milano Linate, Bergamo)
  2. Torino is not a capital city (though it was the first one of the Italian Kingdom), so it doesn't enjoy a prominent international status
    Solution: We believe that the world-class events that Torino has hosted and that are listed below (especially the Olympic Winter Games) prove that the city has a sufficient international status to handle an event like Wikimania
    On the other hand this could also be an advantage since Torino is really not likely to become a location exposed to any sort of terrorism risk.
  • Strengths of the proposed location
  1. One accommodation site and lunch for all participants at no charge.
  2. We have a really strong group of sponsors; since they are mostly non-corporate, institutional organizations, they can freely dispose of locations and infrastructures. Sponsors were really supportive in creating the bid and never tried to influence any choice; proof is that they left us the choice between two different venue/accomodations.
  3. Torino is often chosen as a location for worldwide-resonance events (please see the table on the side)
  4. Italy is in the Eurozone, one of the largest economic regions in the world; over 307 millions people in 12 European countries (with Slovenia scheduled to join on January 1st, 2007) share the Euro as single currency and won't need to deal with varying foreign exchange rates. This results in simpler planning and fixed price estimates.
  5. The Italian Wiki-community is rather big and well motivated. The local chapter has been established in June 2005, and is fully supporting and funding the event.
  6. The accomodation and the conference venue are very close (wikimaniacs won't be dispersed in several locations).
  7. Easy access to the conference venue making participation comfortable and easy for foreign delegates.
  8. A good chance of discovering Torino!
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