Turin: Chocolate Capital of Italy.
…continued…
6. To find the masterpieces in the Savoy Gallery
Turin has several well-regarded galleries (including one housed in a gorgeous Renzo Piano building) but if time is short, pop in to the small but exquisite collection in the Galleria Sabauda behind the Royal Palace. Here you can find works by Mantegna, Jan van Eyck, Botticelli, Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Tiepolo, Guido Reni, Titian….
Galleria Sabauda, Turin.
7. To ponder the Italian Risorgimento
Turin was the hot-bed of activity from whence sprang most of the efforts aimed at unifying Italy in the mid-nineteenth century, and it was the city that hosted the very first unified parliament (though that was soon moved to Florence and points south). Still, Turin holds this history dear, with a Museo Risorgimento and plenty of statues, displays, mementos and mentions of the great figures of that time: Garibaldi, Cavour, Victor Emmanuel II.
8. To check on the Shroud of Turin
The famous Shroud has it’s own website (one amongst many, in fact) which tells us:
“The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist? Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages.”
The Shroud is housed in the Duomo di Torino (Turin Cathedral),where it lies spread full length in a special fire-proof chamber in a side chapel patrolled by volunteers. There’s a rather good multi-lingual film that plays on a loop so that you can get the full story. The fire-proof chamber is a recent addition, installed after the Shroud had a narrow escape in 1997. Luckily on that occasion a brave Torino fireman plucked the Shroud to safety. Wiki gives the full, intriguing story.
9. To visit all those museums I missed.
Turin is rich in museums – very rich. I did take a turn through Palazzo Madama, the building that housed the original Senate of the unified Italy (visit the massive Senate Chamber). Its site was originally Roman, and there are foundational remains to view. The Palazzo Madama houses Turin’s Museo Civico d’Arte Antica – a large collection of paintings, statues, church ornaments, porcelain, and decorative art, mostly from the late Middle Ages to the 18th Century. And temporary exhibitions of a more contemporary nature – the photography of Eve Arnold when I was there. *phew*
Palazzo Madama
Here’s a list of Turin museums .
10. To eat.
Turin is an elegant city with broad piazzas lined with cafés, cobbled side streets lined with restaurants, plus all those chocolate shops. And it also has the divine restaurant Porta di Po, on the broad Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
Definitely eat there. After all, it’s only a short walk from your B&B.
la vie boheme travel 