Torino, located in the northwest corner of Italy, goes way back to Roman times. It is commonly assumed that the word Torino originates from the word toro meaning bull; however, it was discovered that in some random language way back when, the word for mountain people was taurini. Torino itself is surrounded by the Alps, so being named after mountain people is logical too.
The city was built in the typical Roman quadrangle but was later extended. This is a picture of the original Roman gate. Wow! You might say. For being 2000 years old it looks pretty good! Well, back in the 1800s someone decided that it looked too old so they restored it. The bottom half is still original, but you can see the differences in the brick from close up.
Years and years later, the Duke of Savoy in France decided to march his whole family into Torino down the main street and proclaim themselves as royalty. So they are\were Italy's royal family.
In the center of the city, is Piazza Castello.
In this picture here, you can see the royal palace. It’s the lighter colored building, and the more ornate one on the right is Palazzo Madama which was built for the mother in law of Carlo Alberto or Vittorio Emmanuelle or one of them. This is still the center of town in Torino. There is always something going on here- concerts, art exhibitions, etc. In old paintings, the piazza is filled with people cheering on the Savoys…not sure if that really happened.
Just on the other side of the royal palace is the church which holds the famous shroud of Turin. The building sticks out a little because it was built by a roman architect whereas most of the architecture in Torino is French in style.
The shroud not only survived the original fire as told in the story, but there was also another fire in the church where it didn’t burn again. The church is connected to the back of the royal palace. The shroud is only put on display once every 20 years. I think they just did it two years ago, so you will have to wait.
Way out on the outskirts of the city is the Reggia Veneria. It was the hunting house for the Savoy family. They just restored it and opened it to the public a few months ago. It has been said that it will put Torino on the map for places to visit when in Italy. The Italian court has since ceased to exist, so by opening this great house to the public, it is supposed to be an act of democracy. I thought it was a cool idea.
So I got to go to the Reggia on Wednesday. Now I have never been to Versailles, but I think it’s up there with it. I couldn’t take pictures of it, but in some of the rooms they had images of people projected on the walls. They were supposed to represent the various historical figures but there were also, the cooks and servants, and ladies of the court. They were talking about things they did in their daily lives or how they wanted someone to die soon so they could have a title, or how they were going to marry off a daughter to increase the power of the family. I wish I could have understood more of what they were saying. It was fabulous.
So the Savoy family was exiled from Italy- I have no clue when but they made a big deal about the family finally being allowed back into the country just a few years ago. I guess one of the descendents got married in Rome. I have no idea about the details of when, where, why, and how that happened.
Here’s something for Jeopardy watchers: Torino was the first capital of Italy. Italy is a fairly new democracy. I want to say that in 1817 the first parliament was held in Torino, but Im not certain about that date.
Now, as you may recall, I previously mentioned how I had a view of the Mole Antionelliana from my room. This building was originally designed to be a synagogue but they ran out of funds. The city bought it, and it is now a cinema museum and a symbol of the city. Inside is an elevator completely made out of glass. It takes you up to the top where you have a beautiful view of the city and surrounding mountains. I apologize for being such spaz and forgetting to take a picture of it.
So anyways, that’s Torino’s history in a nutshell…there was a battle of Torino sometime, there is supposed to be a lot of black magic stuff here, its supposed to be a world design capital, it was the home of the 2006 Olympics, hot chocolate was invented here, and it houses the second best Egyptian museum in the world. I could go on and on, but I told you it would be condensed. Hope you learned something, and I didn’t butcher the history too much. Ciao Ciao! ~Marcie
torino at night
looks like just a normal fence...
but it is actually recycling at its best and theft protection at the same time.
Finally, here is the Mole
Okay, so this computer is acting weird so it didn't upload my photos, then it closed and deleted my whole blog. So, now you are stuck with this. Here are a few pictures from Cinque Terre. The first one is in Monterosso and the second is of Vernazza. It was a great 5 hour hike between the villages. There were fabulous views, and it was nice to get a break every few hours. I went swimming in the sea and saw a bunch of brightly colored fish.
I recieved a complaint that I haven't posted any pictures of me up, and I discovered that this is the only one I have. Yes, that's Annamarie and I drinking boxed wine out of elephant cups in the middle of the piazza.
More pictures from the 'hunting lodge.'
This is the little boy Annamarie takes care of, Tomaso. The two of them got sketch books in the gift shop and were set on drawing 'antiques.'
