From 'La Mole' to Penge

When I was in Turin last week-end, I visited the Basilica of Superga on the namesake hill.

One can of course drive, but it's more fun to catch the "Dentiera di Superga" or the "Superga Rack Tramway"











It takes about 18 minutes to climb the 425 m (1,394 ft) to the top of the hill.



The railway is called the 'dentiera' by the Torinesi, because of the cogs or teeth. Dentiera also means 'denture' so the name always makes me smile.

On top of the hill, you'll find a Basilica built by Filippo Juvarra in the 1720s under orders from the Duke of Savoy to fulfil a wow to the Madonna made during the siege of Turin in 1706. The Piemontese helped by the Austrians defeated the French/Spanish army which has besieged the city for almost 4 months, and the Madonna got a basilica.







I climbed the 131 steps



to the dome from which you can see the whole city.





and beyond. Sadly it was very hazy because on a clear day, you can see the snow-capped Alps stretching from the Monviso to the Monte Rosa on one side, and the hills on the other









I didn't visit the royal tombs as I had already seen them twice at least (including once with london1952 more than 10 years ago) but had a look inside the church





Here's the statue of the Madonna



and here's a room with the ex-votos







(the painting at the bottom represents one of the battles of the Risorgimento).

Behind the Basilica, this monument


commemorates the 1949 air disaster



And I cannot finish this post without mentioning a Torinese proverb:

"Quand Superga a l'à 'l capel o ca fà brut, o ca fà bel, quand'l capel a l'à nen dal tut o ca fa bel o ca fà brut."

(in Italian: Quando Superga ha il cappello farà brutto o farà bello; quando il cappello non c'e' o farà bello o farà brutto"
in English: When Superga has a hat - of clouds - the weather will be bad or nice; when there's no hat the weather will nice or bad).

Another year, another Christmas away from london1952 and at my parents'. 
I travelled to Italy early on Saturday morning (left home at 4:20 am to catch a 6:55 am flight); I felt a bit under the weather with a swollen throat until really today when against my father's advice ('stay at home, don't go out and catch cold') I went to Milan to meet up with my friend Paola and her husband Francesco.

This morning I got to Torino Porta Nuova railway station rather early



all because when I got up at 6 am, I found my parents already up. Mother had made me a cup of tea, and Father decided that he was going to drive me into town to catch the tram to the station. Sweet of them but quite unnecessary as they are not really spring chicken any longer!

As the Frecciarossa train was at 7:57 am, I had a time for a brisk walk up the deserted Via Roma





to an equally empty Piazza San Carlo









I was a bit disappointed that the Christmas lights in the streets were not on, but well it would be rather wasteful to do otherwise.

I then carried on to Piazza Castello



where there is a giant Advent Calendar





and some very strange knitting on the wrought iron gates of Palazzo Madama

(this of course made me think of madknits!)



I then hurried back down via Lagrange to the station to catch my train. And an hour later I was in Milan.

And with this unlit and slightly bizarre Christmas lights, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! (also on Adrian's behalf as he's without access to the internet and he didn't manage to post before going 'up north' on Friday).

Here I am in Turin, visiting my parents.

I had planned to go to the Basilica of Superga this afternoon (that's the one on the top of the hill in this picture)


but it is 3 buses and a rack tramway from parents; as I missed the first bus and the tramway is only every hour, I though it best not to go in the end.
Besides, it is warm and muggy and hazy, and one should really go to Superga on a clear day to admire the Alps. Next time, maybe.

I wandered around the city centre, somewhat aimlessly going where the spur of the moment took me. 
I started from the old church of San Domenico, probably the only Gothic church left in the city



Don't be fooled by the colourful bunting; the Dominicans wore black on white and were the arm of the Inquisition


Nearby is the Piazza delle Erbe, also known as Piazza Palazzo di Città which is home to the city hall and was the forum in Roman times.

Even here they are reminiscences of killings. The very un-PC statue of Amedeo VI, aka il Conte Verde (because he always used to wear green). The count is depicted slaughtering the Turks in the mini-crusade known as the Savoyard Crusade: he took Gallipoli - one of london1952's favourite places in Puglia - from them but never made it to the Holy Land and ended up attacking the Bulgarians (sorry tilia_tomentosa!)
 

But if you look at him from the right angle, he seems that he's only striking a pose, and a camp one to boot!



My legs took me to Piazza Castello where I wanted to visit the Giardini Reali. Sadly they are still closed for renovation.

The square was taken over by CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee) 

promoting the Italian team at London 2012. 
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! There's no escape from the bloody Olympics, not even abroad!

This is the Galleria Subalpina which was apparently inspired by a bazaar. The result of course is very Torinese


I then stumbled across a small church that was opened for guided tours: the church of Santa Pelagia. It left me quite unimpressed.

I walked down to the river Po


and decided to climb up to the Monte dei Cappuccini, which is the hill topped by a church on the right in the picture above.
(It takes its name from the convent of the Cappuccini friars - and not from the foamy drinks! lol)

I crossed the river on the bridge, although at week-ends there's now an option to 'fly' over it, attached to a rope. Nah, my swimming is not that good! lol







There are good views of the city from the piazzale in front of the church


The plan for tomorrow is a big lunch at my parents, who have invited my oldest friend and his parents. I'm feeling full already.

I've always loved taking pictures of statues - I guess it's the equivalent of taking photos of live models for shy people! 

These 2 represents the Po and the Dora the 2 main rivers that cross Turin




They were made in 1937 and placed in a small square that was created during the remodelling of via Roma.
The square is now named after the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (the National Liberation Committee) but during the last years of WWII housed the Gestapo (replaced by the American headquarters at the end of the war) at the Hotel Nazionale. The hotel has recently closed. 

The two fountains are at the back of the lovely Piazza San Carlo which is considered the salotto (drawing room) of the city.
In the middle of the square there's the equestrian monument to Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy also known as 'Testa di Ferro' (iron head)


He spent many year warmongering around Europe.



He also moved the then capital of the Duchy of Savoy from Chambéry to Turin in 1563 and he abolished serfdom (yay!)
Despite this, the monument is known as Caval ëd Brons (Cavallo di Bronzo in Italian i.e. Bronze Horse)

Another head of the Savoy family - this time a king - is commemorated in Piazza Carlo Alberto.
But he gets little respect from the pigeons 


He is surrounded by some soldiers:






Carlo Alberto and Emuanuele Filiberto's equestrian monuments were created by the same artist: Carlo Marochetti, who also made the statue of Richard the Lionheart outside the Palace of Westminster in London!

And talking of lions...



I end this post with Julius Caesar's hand, near the Porta Palatina
At least he's not making a rude gesture

Piazza Castello is arguably the square most loved by the Torinese.

Palazzo Madama, an hybrid of a Roman gate, medieval castle and Baroque palazzo sits in the middle









It is surrounded by portici on 3 sides 


and it's home to the Teatro Regio (the Opera house), the Prefettura with a Cristoforo Colombo high-relief


(The superstitious Torinesi like to rub his little finger for good luck )

the Armeria Reale, the Palazzo Reale






and the chiesa di San Lorenzo



You can also see the extravagant dome of the Holy Shroud





A number of roads converge on the square: via Po, via Garibaldi, via Roma (which will take you to Piazza San Carlo and the Porta Nuova railway station)



and via Pietro Micca

On Saturday afternoon, I went to visit a place in Turin I had never been before.
After stopping in Piazza Statuto to catch a tram and taking pictures of the Frejus monument, I travelled down via Po to the other side of the river.



The river is at the foot of the collina (i.e. the hills) torinese which, with the Crocetta, is the poshest part of town. Very green and dotted with villas is where the well-to-do live and from where they descend into town on their 4 wheel driver (which I suppose they have their use when it's snowy/icy).

Most of the villas dates from the 19th century but some are older.

Villa della Regina



dates from the 17th century.
It was built in 1613 for Cardinal Prince Maurizio di Savoia (Maurice of Savoy) and then at the end of that century it was given to Queen Anne Marie d'Orléans, wife of the Duke of Savoy. The villa has been known as Villa della Regina ever since.
It was then re-modelled by Filippo Juvarra, a Sicilian architect responsible for many of Turin's Baroque treasures.

The villa stayed in the hand of the Savoy Royal family until 1868 when King Vittorio Emanuele II sold it to the "national institute of the daughters of the army" after stripping it of its most valuable assets which were later shipped to the Quirinal palace in Rome.

The villa is in a fantastic position.



You can see most of the city and on clear days you have the wonderful backdrop of the Alps (sadly, Saturday it was quite hazy).

I have taken today and Monday off work and am going to spend the week-end in Turin at my parents'.

The "A Civilize Traveller's Guide To Turin" says

Nestled between the Alps and the Po River, Turin was hailed by Le Corbusier as the most beautifully situated city he'd ever seen, and by Giorgio de Chirico as the “most profound, most enigmatic, most disquieting city not only of Italy, but of the world.”

Today Turin, an elegant city of more than a million people, with views of the Alps around every corner, is home to Italy's most vibrant contemporary art scene, as well as extraordinary architecture, sophisticated shops, and food and wine that are an epicurean's dream.

Turin's cultural attractions....  from the one-of-a-kind Museum of Cinema to the world-renowned Museo Egizio, which holds the most significant collection of Egyptian artifacts outside of Cairo.

It sounds exciting, doesn't it? Are we really talking about the same city? LOL!

Maybe I'll manage to 'escape' parents for a few hours and enjoy a trip down memory lane! 

Here I am at my parents' in Turin...

And this is what I had for dessert today (because it was my name day a few weeks ago).

 

well not all of those of course!

Who can resist 'bignole' little choux pastries filled with every imaginable sort of sweet naughtiness and covered in even more cavity-inducing icing?

I can't! 

I've spent the week-end at my parents, and in fact I'm still here.

I am supposed to fly back to London tomorrow night but there are two strikes in the way: British Airways (my flight is supposed to operate, but you never know) and an Italian strike of airport ground staff.
Well, we'll see what happens!

The weather has been grey and drizzly at times, and haven't done much at all. Going out upsets parents as they want me at home.

Today my best friend Franco and his parents were invited round to lunch.
It was a big lunch: 4 starters, 2 main courses, a soup, 3 desserts (you can see pictures of quite a similar lunch from 2 Boxing Days ago here). 

One of the desserts - brought by our guests - was a huge tray of delicious, eat-in-one-mouthful pastries, one of my favourites. 
I think I'd probably order such a tray as my last meal!

Today is my second day back at work after my 10-day Christmas break, most of which was spent in Turin.

I don't mind being back at the office: I had started going stir crazy at my parents, so it's an improvement! LOL!

It's quiet at work and commuting in the morning feels quite relaxed as most people are still at home.
They emerge later as confirmed by my little sortie down Oxford Street earlier which was followed by a hurried retreat.

Here the weather in the last couple of days has been rather miserable: grey skies, drizzle accompanied by the feeling that we go from night to dusk to night.

In my 8 days in Turin I had quite a variety of weather conditions:
- bitterly cold sunshine (-14 C the first couple of days)
- snow (twice)
- fog and mist
- rain

 

 

 

On Sunday morning, when I left, the skies were bright blue and the wind had uncovered the Alps.
The view was simply breathtaking both from the ground and later from the plane.
Oh, I do miss "my" mountains!