Archaeological remains found in the center of Pinerolo in the early 1970s testify the human presence in the area in prehistoric times Remains of the Romannecropolis of Dama Rossa, found during works for the Pinerolo-Turin highway in 2003, show that the area at the time was the seat of agricultural activities The toponym of Pinerolo appears only in the Middle Ages, in an imperial diplom dating from 981, by which Otto II confirmed its possession, within the March of Turin, to the Bishops of Turin. The town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance was the origin of the well-known military school that still exists today. The fortress of Fenestrelle is nearby. Later, Pinerolo was ruled by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo, who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina, even after the city had established itself as a municipality under the government of Thomas II of Savoy. From 1235, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate, which became absolute in 1243, and was continued thereafter by either the House of Savoy, or its cadet-branch, the House of Savoy-Acaia. When French troops invaded Piedmont, Pinerolo was conquered; it remained under French control until 1574. It fell again to France in 1631 with the treaty of Cherasco. France agreed to hand Pinerolo back to the house of Savoy under the Treaty of Turin, with the conditions that its stronghold's fortifications be demolished and that Savoy withdraw from the League of Augsburg against Louis XIV.
Economy
It is around Pinerolo that revolves the economy of the waldensian valleys and of the plain between these valleys and the Po course. Several industries have their base in this area, particularly mechanical, paper making, chemical and textile industries, and also absorb manpower from the nearby centres. The leading companies are Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, which produces seals for rotating shafts and valves sterns, Raspini, a meat processing company, TN Italy, which manufactures ball bearings, the Trombini Group, which supplies the furniture industry with chipboard, and PMT Italia, which supplies the pulp and paper industry with paper machines. Moreover, Pinerolo is the trade center of the surrounding mountain area. The agriculture and the breeding of the livestock are conducted with advanced techniques. Pinerolo is the centre of the community called Comunità Montana Pinerolese Pedemontano.
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux, superintendent of Finances in France under Louis XIV, was imprisoned in Pignerol from 1665 until his death in 1680.
