20,000 steps around Turin

Last night Mike and I arrived in Turin and RV’d with Helen on the rooftop bar of the Turin Palace hotel - a bit late due to as missed connection in Frankfurt but happy nonetheless. After a celebratory drink we had a long, much needed sleep and then tackled a full day of sight seeing today. We started the day at our lovely Palace Turin Hotel by making only a small dent in the enormous hotel breakfast buffet that would have kept the Parry grandsons busy for hours. We then met up with Angelo, our local guide, for a walking tour of some of the main sites in the city centre. We covered a lot of ground and saw Roman ruins (crumbling), medieval towers ( long slits for the archers to fire arrows), renaissance palaces (very geometrical), baroque churches ( much more decorative and interesting) , rococo design ( there is NEVER too much gold leaf in rococo), neo-classical ( a new take on greek columns with the addition of domes) and finally structures built during the fascist regime ( dreary and ugly). Helen coached us through all the architecture and pointed out many of the subtle differences.
Today we also learned much more about modern Italy which only came into existence, as we know it, in the 1860s. Turin was the capital city for 4 short years. But as Angelo said with a shrug.”At least we were the first”. The royal family (House of Savoy) was already in Turin but more about them later.
Our guide Angelo was good fun and took us to taste some local beverages. I took one for the team and had a Bicerin - which is a drink made with a layer of rich chocolate, next strong coffee, and finally cream. I was given strict instructions that it was not to be stirred up like a milk shake but I was to gently bring the chocolate up through the layers, It was very rich - think cafe mocha. Mike and Helen wisely elected to try a series of ancient Caponas - the original vermouth made from local wine and herbs. Carpona was an herbalist - something like a pharmacist in those times - and he mixed muscat with absinthe. The King loved it and the rest is history,. Apertivos are a big thing here and meant to “ open the stomach” before a meal.
We spent the afternoon roaming around the royal palace learning a bit about the House of Savoy that seemed to be mostly of French descendants, if I understood correctly. . I think it’s ironic that countries like Italy, France, Russia, China all venerate - or at least heavily market their former dynasties after having firmly kicked them to the curb. In the case of Italy, the House of Savoy reigned in modern Italy until after WWII, when there was a referendum —-because the royal family had backed Mussolini——that removed them and, in fact, banished them altogether. There have been some modern sputterings about resurrecting the monarchy that have gone nowhere.
After our palace visit we visited the Domo or cathedral that houses the Shroud of Turin, believed to be the burial cloth of Christ. You can only see a replicate. As part of that same royal chapel we visited the crypt of the former Italian Kings. This was a highlight for Helen as a very famous architect Guarino Guarini designed a dramatic tower. (Picture enclosed) Another interesting stop was the landmark tower - seen in the picture on my blog title page. The Mole Antonelliana was conceived as a synagogue but the architect went a bit rogue, was fired by the Jewish community and finally built the thing to 550 ft making it the tallest “unreinforced” structure in Europe, Meaning no steel. Unfortunately, there were a series of weather events that toppled the top of the tower and it has now been reinforced with steel so that it won ‘t topple again., I don’t know ….architects versus engineers??
My general sense of Turin is that it is very chic. Men in suede loafers and suits, women in nice clothes. Young people looking very hip. Lovely shops along the many miles of arcades. The arcades shelter walkers from heat and cold, whatever the season. Tonight we ate at a local taverna and sampled a few of the “must tries” for the Piedmont Region. Arneis white wine (picture included for you Andi) veal carpaccio, risotto. Tomorrow we will venture south to visit some of Turin’s industrial roots. That’s all for now. Buona notte. Heather (Mom/Grandma)Read more