The founding of the main residence of the Dukes of Piedmont and Savoy in the Turin region was the beginning of a period of multifaceted construction activity, that still shapes Turin today. An enlargement of the walls beyond the antique Roman planned city resulted first, in the 17th century, in a fortress city offering protection for the Duchy's residence and later, in the 18th century, in a large-scale ideal city with places, axes, and representative prospects for the Kingdom of the two Sicilies.

During this time, extraordinary architectures came into being in Turin and in the surrounding countryside, which should be, and have been, recognized as being exemplary in all of Europe. To this day, the structures impress us with the precision of their geometry and the quality of their spaces. The interplay of architectural invention on one hand and precision in engineering on the other also shaped the architecture of the modern era. Continuously enlarged to this day, Turin was not only the capital of Italy, but also a successful seat of industry. Today, Turin, alongside Milan, remains a central European location between Madrid and Istanbul.

A condensed seminar prepares students for the rich subject matter of the study trip. The results will be collected in an excursion guide and provided to all participants for later use.