Parco del Valentino
# Parco del Valentino

Parco del Valentino (also known as Valentino Park) is a popular public park in Turin, Italy. It is located along the west bank of the Po river. It covers an area of 500,000m², which makes it Turin's second largest park (Turin's largest park, the 840,000m² Pellerina Park, is Italy's most extended urban green area). This park has been nominated “The best Italian park” after a selection among the fifteen best Italian parks.

## History

The Parco del Valentino was opened by the city of Turin in 1856, and was Italy’s first public garden.

It hosted the Eurovision Village during the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

## Racing circuit

Between 1935 and 1955 an occasional series of motorsport events were held on the roads within the park, including the 1946 Turin Grand Prix, which was the first Formula One race, and the 1948 Italian Grand Prix. These races were generally known as the Gran Premio del Valentino.

| Year | Race Title | Race Winner | Car | Circuit Length | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1935 | I Gran Premio del Valentino | Tazio Nuvolari | Alfa Romeo Tipo B | 4.09 km | Report |
| 1937 | Circuito di Torino | Eugen Bjørnstad | ERA A-Type | 2.92 km | Report |
| 1937 | II Gran Premio del Valentino | Antonio Brivio | Alfa Romeo 12C-36 | 2.92 km | Report |
| 1946 | Coppa Brezzi | Piero Dusio | Cisitalia D46 | 4.8 km | Report |
| 1946 | Turin Grand Prix | Achille Varzi | Alfa Romeo 158 | 4.8 km | Report |
| 1947 | IV Gran Premio del Valentino | Raymond Sommer | Ferrari 159 S | 4.8 km | Report |
| 1948 | Italian Grand Prix | Jean-Pierre Wimille | Alfa Romeo 158 | 4.8 km | Report |
| 1952 | VI Gran Premio del Valentino | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari 375 | 4.2 km | Report |
| 1955 | VII Gran Premio del Valentino | Alberto Ascari | Lancia D50 | 4.4 km | Report |

## Park contents

Buildings within the park include:

* The Botanical Gardens
* The Baroque Castle (Castello del Valentino)
* Medieval Castle and Village
* The Torino Esposizioni and Underground Pavilion Complex
* Società Promotrice delle Belle Arti
* Villa Glicini
* Enzo Ferrari's special bench

## Gallery

* The Borgo Medioevale in Valentino Park.
* Statue of Cesare Battisti in Valentino Park.
* Suggestive view of the lighting of a rock garden of Valentino Park, created by Guido Chiarelli for Expo 61
* The Castello del Valentino
* Arco del Valentino
* Fontana dei 12 mesi (Fountain of the months)
