Turin is one of the cradles of modern European culture, the home and workplace of writers who have made literary history. Turin was the birthplace of the most important Italian publishing houses and historic printers, such as Tallone, maintain the vision of printing as an art form and of the book as a refined object in the search for Beauty.

Turin's publishing industry has made a fundamental contribution to its civil and cultural development: a leader in this modern strategy was Utet (Unione Tipografico-Editrice); founded in 1854 by Giuseppe Pomba, it has paid particular attention to the fields of law and economics, later focusing on geography, medicine, technology, and the exact sciences.

In 1933, Giulio Einaudi founded the publishing house named after him, still one of the most renowned firms on the international publishing scene, surrounding himself with the finest minds of this incredibly vibrant intellectual environment, where names such as Leone Ginzburg, Cesare Pavese, and the philosopher Norberto Bobbio stand out. The Einaudi catalogue contains works of the most prestigious calibre, and it is said to be the true "university" of the Italian people.

In 1957, Paolo Boringhieri bought out the Edizioni Scientifiche Einaudi and set up his own business, specializing in the exact sciences (physics, biology and mathematics) and completing an edition of Freud's Gesammelte Werke which is considered the best version available today. In 1987, Boringhieri was joined by Giulio Bollati, already a key figure at Einaudi, and the firm expanded its catalogue to include the humanities and literature, always applying the same rigorously high standards.

The Turin literary scene has also proved favourable for the development of sophisticated new publishing initiatives, such as Allemandi Editore, a leader in the sector of the arts, and EDT, specialized in music and travel writing. Other publishers have included Paravia, Petrini and Lattes, primarily focused on textbooks and specialized in the scholastic and didactic sector. An educated public in the world of academia was also targeted by Hermann Loescher. Fratelli Bocca published an important series of social science volumes, which included the scientific contributions of Lombroso and his school of criminology, as well as the works of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Spencer. Of equal importance is the role played by Catholic publishers, represented by Pietro Marietti and SEI, and of the literary houses which published the works of Verga, Serao, Gozzano, and the popular adventure novels of Emilio Salgari.

Turin is also home to the International Book Fair. With 1,200 publishers and 230,000 visitors every year, it is now one of the most important in Europe. With over 1,200,000 volumes and approximately 740,000 loans a year, Turin is also a city of libraries, ranging from the sumptuous Biblioteca Reale, home to Leonardo da Vinci's red chalk Self-Portrait and his Codex on the Flight of Birds, to the great Nazionale Universitaria and the municipal and regional network of libraries, which in addition to conservation and consultation, offer cutting-edge services and organize hundreds of events and activities every year. In the near future, a brand new Biblioteca Civica (municipal library) is to be built, to a design by architect Mario Bellini, which is recognized as one of the most innovating and interesting projects of its kind in the world.

But Turin is also a city of bookshops and book-dealers. Readers can wander for days on end among the historic establishments patronized by great writers, modern mediastores, literary cafés, and international or super-specialized bookshops. The rarest and most curious of volumes are to be found on the shelves of its bookstalls. With their vermouth and bicerin, its historic cafés have preserved intact the atmosphere that has witnessed the birth of so many literary masterpieces. Here, too, youthful creativity receives special attention, through an endless calendar of events, workshops, festivals, gatherings and training courses. This panorama is further enlivened by the work of writing schools such as the Scuola Holden, and by associations and cultural foundations whose prestigious international literary awards promote Turin's culture internationally, and international culture in Turin.