TURIN—Best known for its famous shroud, the Juventus football club, and its role as the first capital of a unified Italy, the northwest Italian city of Turin has had something of a rollercoaster ride of fortune over the past several decades. A boomtown for automotive, aerospace, and other industries in the 1970s, Turin, like its U.S. cousin Detroit, saw its boom end with a thud in the mid-1980s, leaving the scars of failing manufacturing sites marring what is nevertheless a handsome city with a Roman heritage and a view of the Alps. But in recent years, the city and region have seen a revitalization, driven by several factors, not least of which has been an investment in the arts.

The city’s big annual art week kicks off November 4 when this year’s edition of the popular Luci d’Artista light-art project will be illuminated. Later in the week, the second edition of the Turin Triennale (November 6, 2008 – February 1, 2009), and the Artissima art fair (November 7–9) open.

Luci d’Artista was born in 1998, when the Turin city council responded to lobbying from retailers to improve the urban environment over the winter months, mindful that they were to host the Winter Olympics in 2006. Italian and international artists were invited to create works in light all over the city, a collection that each winter is re-installed and added to, now involving 19 artists. The city becomes a canvas for stunning pieces, which not only improve the appearance of dark streets, but also stimulate tourism and trade, and have even been credited with improving community relations in poorer neighborhoods. Highlights include Daniel Buren’s Tappeto volante, a glowing “flying carpet” of red and blue cubes installed above the historic piazza Palazzo di Città; Mario Merz's Il volo dei numeri, which scales the side of Turin’s best-known landmark the Mole Antonelliana; and Rebecca Horn’s Piccoli Spiriti Blu, a series of ethereal blue circles that hover around the Monte dei Cappuccini church and can be seen across the Po River from the city center. This year’s new works, which remain firmly under wraps until the opening, are from Milanese artist Alberto De Braud and theater director Franco Gervasio.

The Turin Triennale was initiated in 2005 as an international art event to boost the city’s cultural offerings. The curator for this year’s sophomore effort is Daniel Birnbaum, who is also directing the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. His show, titled "50 Moons of Saturn," comprises solo exhibitions by Olafur Eliasson and Paul Chan that will be orbited by a group show of 48 other international artists who have not yet reached the same stellar status but are well on their way, including Gerard Byrne, Ceal Floyer, and Tomas Saraceno. The triennial exhibitions span three venues: the Castello di Rivoli just outside the city; the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo; and the Palazzina della Società Promotrice delle Belle Arti.

Were there a competition for the most stunning museum in Europe, the Castello di Rivoli would certainly make the shortlist. Located atop a hill in Rivoli, a town nine miles outside Turin, the Castello overlooks a plain with an ancient Roman road to the city. The Castello is part medieval fortress, part unfinished 18th-century addition, part stylish contemporary renovation into an art museum, which was completed by Andrea Bruno in 1995. During the triennale, the Castello will host the Eliasson exhibition and part of the group show of the other artists. Some of the institution’s permanent collection, known for edgy installations such as Maurizio Cattelan’s Novocento, a stuffed horse suspended from the ceiling of the baroque gallery, will also be on view.

The triennale’s second site, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, epitomizes the recent enthusiasm for and investment in contemporary art in Turin. Founded in 1995 by Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, who had begun collecting art seriously only a few years earlier, the private non-profit foundation foundation comprises two venues: the Re Rebaudengo family’s 18th-century pallazo in Guarene d'Alba, a village outside Turin, and a newer gallery, designed by Claudio Silvestrin and opened in 2002, where Francesco Bonami, who curated the first triennale in 2005, is artistic director. For this year’s edition, the Fondazione is hosting the Chan exhibition as well as part of the group show. In the unlikely event that your appetite for art is not sated here, another Turin gem, the Fondazione (Mario) Merz, which has a significant Matthew Barney show on until January 11, 2009, is just a few blocks away.