Torino's identity crisis: Carlo Ratti's vision of a Milan-Turin metropolis

Carlo Ratti, incoming director of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, argues that Turin's future lies in merging with Milan to form 'the largest metropolis in southern Europe.' A native of Turin now based at MIT in Boston, Ratti envisions combining the expertise of the Polytechnic University of Turin and the Polytechnic University of Milan, where he has been appointed to a chair in futuristic urban planning. The article reflects on Turin's post-industrial identity crisis, marked by the physical dismantling of the Fiat headquarters—once described by Le Corbusier as 'one of the most impressive spectacles industry has ever offered'—now overgrown with vegetation by Benedetto Camerana. Creative director Luca Ballarini, founder of agency Bellissimo and the Torino Stratosferica project, works on 'City Imaging' to enhance the city's international positioning through storytelling, a practice historically resisted by Turin's culture. The city is characterized as nostalgic, austere, and self-critical, as rapper Willie Peyote sings in his album 'Educazione Sabauda.' Turin seems capable of loving itself only in memory of its past glories (capital, cinema, Einaudi, Lotta Continua, Artissima) while neglecting its future potential. The article questions whether Turin can rediscover its identity or remains dependent on Milan.