Lingotto
building complex and former factory in Turin, Italy
Lingotto is a building complex on Via Nizza in Turin, Italy. It once housed a car factory built by Italian automotive company Fiat and today houses the administrative headquarters of the manufacturer and a multipurpose centre projected by architect Renzo Piano.
History
In 1916, construction started on the complex, and it was completed in 1923. The design by the young architect Giacomo 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 to go onto a 1,500-metre (1.5 km; 4,900 ft; 0.93 mi) long test track, with spiral concrete access ramps at each end.
The construction was carried out by the company of G A Porcheddu. It was the largest car factory in the world at that time. For its time, the Lingotto building was avant garde, influential, and impressive—Le Corbusier called it "one of the most impressive sights in industry", and "a guideline for town planning". In its lifetime, the factory manufactured 80 different car models, notably the 1936 Fiat Topolino.
By the late 1970s, the factory had become obsolete — having been superseded by the larger and more advanced Fiat Mirafiori factory — and a decision was made to finally close it in 1982.
The public source identifies “Lingotto” as building complex and former factory in Turin, Italy. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lingotto, building and complex.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Lingotto”, the useful work is to connect “building complex and former factory in Turin, Italy” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1478414. Authority coordinates are 45.029, 7.664. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1916, 1923, 1936 and 1982.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Lingotto”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Lingotto primary sources, Lingotto archive and Lingotto research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lingotto”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Lingotto” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.