Pinerolo was bestowed on the bishops of Turin by Otho III. in 996; but in 1078 the countess Adelaide made it over to the Benedictine abbey of Santa Maria, in whose possession it remained till 1159. Thomas I. of Savoy captured the castle in 1188, and in 1246 the commune formally recognized the supremacy of Savoy. Passing in 1295 into the hands of Philip, son of Thomas III., Pinerolo became his residence and capital, a distinction which it retained under Amadeus VIII. of Savoy, even after the extinction of the separate house of Piedmont in 1418. Francis I. of France obtained possession of the town in his descent into Italy, and tried to secure the allegiance of the people by relieving the woollen trade from taxation; but Emmanuel Philibert received it back from Henry III. in 1574. A second occupation by the French occurred under Cardinal Richelieu: the French language was imposed on the people, great fortifications were constructed, and the fortress was used as a state prison for such men as Fouquet, De Gaumont, and the Man with the Iron Mask. Victor Amadeus bombarded the place in 1693, and ultimately compelled Louis XIV. to relinquish his hold on it; but before the withdrawal of the French troops the defences were demolished and the military importante of Pinerolo brought to a close. In 1748 the town was made a bishop’s see. Michele Buniva, pensioned by Victor Emmanuel I. as the introducer of vaccination into Piedmont, was a native of Pinerolo and has a statue in the Piazza del Palazzo. De Grossi and Massi are among the local historians.