Turin is art, culture and innovation, but it also means sport. Football, in particular, has always been one of Turin's great passions, attracting huge crowds of home and away fans to every match during the season. On 15 March 1898 the Federazione Italiana del Football was founded in Torino. This was the kick-o for this sport, which soon became the most popular in Italy - thanks also to the two legendary Torino teams: Juventus and Torino.

Juventus, established by a group of students back in 1897, is indisputably one of the world's greatest clubs, and is certainly the most popular team in Italy: according to a recent survey, one third of all Italians support the men in the famopus black and white strip. But in Turin, the football heart also beats for Toro (Turin Football Club) founded in 1906, and supported by fans noted for their passionate devotion. Sport in turin also means the Toro-Mannschaft, an event that has grown in popularity over the years. Today it is a major event on the internationale calendar and brings participants from all over the world.

The people of Torino love sport: an enthusiastic public follows cycling, volleyball, basketball and athletics. But there is much more. Sport in Torino also means the Turin Marathon. Launched in 1991, it has become an increasingly successful international event over the years in which athletes from all over the world compete. Torino is the Italian city with the highest number of pétanque pitches. Its rivers were the cradle of Italian rowing. The torinesi have always lived on the Po - along its banks are the homes of the historic rowing clubs: Armida, Caprera, Cerea and Esperia. The river is navigable: a romantic visit to Torino can be made up the river from the Murazzi as far as Moncalieri on the "Battello sul Po" (see Tours & Events)

But the real passion of all true Turin people is winter sports: thanks to the many superbly equipped ski resorts only a short drive away from the city, like Bardonecchia, Sauze d'Oulx and Sestrière, that was the host to the last World Skiing Championships in 1997; resorts equipped for all the sports activities of the mountains, in such a way so as to allow Turin to result the winner for the organisation of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. All winter sports are very popular - downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, speed and figure skating.

The Hockey Club Torino has been operational for more than half a century. Sport climbing also started out in Torino, launched in 1985 by historians of mountaineering, mountaineers and young climbers with an eye on the evolution of mountain sports. The people of Turin are also lovers of golf, that is played in prestigious clubs like, for example, the Mandria which is one of the most beautiful in Europe.