Every design for Settimo Torinese

Settimo Torinese lies on the plain just north-east of Turin, with the Po washing its south-eastern edge, and its very name records the distance from the city: settimo means seventh, for the seven Roman miles between them. Neighbours crowd round on every side, from Leinì and Volpiano to San Mauro Torinese and Gassino Torinese.

Sitting on the road between Turin and Milan made the town a prize. The Marquesses of Montferrat and the House of Savoy fought over it until the Savoy won out in 1435, and today the high-speed line to Milan runs beside the motorway at its edge. That same position turned a farming village into a large industrial town within a few decades. The riverside has stayed green, though: Settimo belongs to the Po river park, and on its west side three large parks have been laid out next to each other, the Parco Sandro Pertini among them.

Grow up here and the map is easy to read: the Tower of Settimo, last fragment of the medieval castle, the parks to the west, and the Po always somewhere to the south-east.