The Regio Politecnico di Torino (Royal Turin Polytechnic) was founded as institution in 1906, but its origins go back further. It was preceded by the Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri (Technical School for Engineers) founded in 1859 after the Casati Act, and by the Museo Industriale Italiano (Italian Industry Museum) founded in 1862 under the aegis of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Industry. The first one, born in the University context, showed the way of research and higher education to technical studies. The second one addressed more directly to the situation of a country that was about to begin a new industrial era. Famous scholars and researchers, authorities in different subjects with characters to match, gave a decree to new subjects such as Electrotechnics and Building Science. They were the first to have a vision of founding a school which dealt with the needs of people and society.

The Politecnico di Torino, which in 2009 celebrated its 150th academic year from its foundation, has become over the years an international school, where traditions and future, past and modernity are all interlinked.