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VISITING TURIN
 Turin's
tourist attractions include the Mole Antonelliana,
a strange, spire-topped building which features on the
Italian 2 euro-cent coin. A good museum of cinema is
housed in the building. Other Turin museums include the
excellent Egyptian Museum.
Piazza Castello is the heart of tourist Turin, home
to grand palaces such as Palazzo Reale, the royal
palace of the Savoy dynasty, and Palazzo Madama,
previously a castle, prison, barracks and senate house.
Around the Piazza - and indeed throughout Turin - you will
find elegant historic cafes; an important part of Turin
life.
Mole Antonelliana and Museum of Cinema
One of Turin's most conspicuous tourist attractions is the
Mole Antonelliana. Originally intended as a synagogue, the
Mole is a tall nineteenth-century brick building topped by
an aluminum spire; a strange edifice celebrated on
Italy's 2 cent coins. Born
to be 47 mt. high, grew over the years till it reached the
height of 167 mt. It thus became the highest traditional
brick building in the world. It was started in april 1863
and opened in 1908. It was presented to the Turinese
people in its definitive form in 1963, the year of its
100th anniversary. ATM (now GTT) also has a long history,
and since 1964 it has been operating the lift wich
provides delight thrills to millions of visitors. An
opportunity that has been revived, with a new panoramic
lift having all crystal walls, for a truly unforgettable
experience.
Check site for Prices and Interesting details of the lift 85 mt.
high 59 seconds to reach the top 9 people per trip 120
people per hour.
The building is home to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema,
Italy's National Cinema Museum, which has many interesting
displays and clips to watch and is well worth a visit.
Little themed 'booths' around the central space are great
fun when not over-run with school parties: you can watch
romantic clips reclining on a bed, or comedy while sitting
on toilet seats. A long spiralling walkway leads up the
walls of the building: it doesn't go anywhere but you can
appreciate the architectural space and the light-shows.
A lift (ascensore) takes those with a good head for
heights up to a lofty roof terrace. The glass lift ascends
through the open central space of the building's cinema
museum before reaching the pinnacle. There are stupendous
views over Turin from the open-air platform. Be prepared
to queue for the lift.
Piazza Castello
Piazza Castello is the hotspot of tourist Turin, home to
grand palaces such as Palazzo Reale, the royal palace of
the Savoy dynasty, and Palazzo Madama, previously a
castle, prison, barracks, senate house, and now a museum
(under restoration). The piazza is an attractive central
spot, and are lots of benches around the square, making it
a good place to rest from the sightseeing.
 Palazzo
Reale can be visited on guided tours (book ahead at
the information office) - there are information boards to
read if you're stuck with an Italian language tour. The
palace is gilded and grand memento of the Savoy family
who, having ruled this area for generations, rose to
become monarchs of the united Italy. After the Second
World War they were exiled from the country, and have only
recently been permitted to return. Their former home is
well worth a visit.
Duomo
and the Turin Shroud
One of the only disappointments for visitors is that you
can't see the Turin shroud. Although it is housed in the
city's Duomo - when not being subjected to testing - the
shroud is currently kept safely locked up. A large
photograph is the nearest you can get to examining the
shadowy impressions. The charming cathedral itself comes
as a refreshing Renaissance surprise after all the
'Liberty-style' grandeur of Turin, while from its steps
you can see the ruins of Roman Turin. It's exposed to the believers every 25 years (you
better not miss it). Guided visits start every half hour and
last about an hour. Opening hrs 9-12 & 15-19 Closed on
tuesday. Here is something you
might don't know.... A fire in Turin Cathedral Friday,
11th April 1997. At 11.30 p.m. a fire broke out in the
interior of the chapel of Guarini. The flames have rapidly
reached the nearby Royal Palace. The salvage of the
Sindon has been very dangerous, but the sudarium has
been put in safety before the eventual collapse of the
dome damaged it. The causes of the fire are still
doubtful. The Cardinal Saldarini, keeper of the Holy
Sudarium, assures that the ostension in 1998 won't be
compromised. His name is Mario Trematore. He is the man
who saved the Sindon from the flames and from the
collapses. When the situation was given up for lost, he
dashed amidst the flames and while around him all was
collapsing, bursting and burning, with a big iron hammer
he began to batter the bullet-proof glass reliquary which
protects the relic. He says: "I found the courage in that
symbol, the symbol of the Sindon. Only a miracle can
explain how I succeeded in breaking the reliquary. When
finally all the glass layers gave up and while the beams
were falling down, I succeeded in grasping the reliquary
with the sudarium in it with both hands and running out
with it.
Egyptian Museum
One of Turin's best museums is the Museo Egizio (Egyptian
Museum), reckoned to be the best collection of Egyptian
arte facts outside Cairo. Some displays are extremely
well-presented, with texts in English, but other parts of
the museum await modernization. There are fascinating
reconstructions of burial chambers, and plenty of mummies
to delight the macabre imaginations of children.The
Egyptian Museum of Turin is the most important Egyptian
museum in the world after the one in Cairo. Carlo Felice
founded the museum in 1824 after he acquired the
collection of the French consul in Egypt. At the beginning
of the 1900's, the museum director Ernesto Schiapparelli
not only acquired important objects from other
collections, but he also ran various excavations in Egypt
which resulted in 17,000 new finds. Today the museum
conserves a total of 30,000 ancient objects, some of which
are one-of-a-kind, such as a stone temple
(rebuilt stone by stone), the statue of Ramses II, and the
funeral chest of Kha e Merit.
Superga
A popular destination for Turin's visitors, Superga is the
basilica on the hill which dominates views from the town.
Built to celebrate successful deliverance from siege, the
church became the resting place for the Savoy royals and
achieved greater notoriety in the twentieth century as the
site of the tragic aeroplane crash which killed the great
Torino football team. Built in 1731 on a project from
Juvarra, this church and city icon is perched on Turin's
hill. Nice city view from here, best at night. Its
basement hosts the crypt, burial ground for Savoy Kings
and family members. In 1949 the whole soccer team of
Torino was killed in a plane crash on the church outer
wall. One interesting way to reach the church up there is
to take the Sassi-Superga tramway, named "Dentiera". This
steep line operation was opened in 1884 as a cable-car
system, similar to that of the famous trolleys in San
Francisco. The Sassi-Superga tramway was updated in the
early 1930s with the introduction of rack-and-pinion that
replaced the steel cable. New cars were also introduced at
that time and these are still operated today. Away from
city traffic, take a walk through one of the many
self-guided trails within the park around the church.
 Monte
dei Cappuccini
For a pleasant stroll from the city centre, visitors can
cross the Po and ascend the little hill of Monte dei
Cappuccini. This was once the site of a fort, later
becoming a monastery and later still the home of the Club
Alpino Italiano, who set up a Museum of the Mountains
here. Fittingly, there is a great view over the city to
the snow-capped Alps. You can visit the monastery's
church, scene of vicious fighting in the seventeenth
century, or simply sit and enjoy the view in a peaceful
break from the hubbub of the city. This little hill on the other side of the Po was
chosen as the site for the church of Santa Maria del Monte
1584. There are three reasons to visit the cappuccino
monks: the view, the church, and the Museo Nazionale della
Montagna (the National Mountain Museum). In 1888 a
funicular was built to reach the summit but was destroyed
by bombings during the war. It is well worth a
walk to Monte dei Cappuccini, the hill on the other side
of the Po (about 15 minutes by foot from the Gran Madre)
where you can find the church of Santa Maria del Monte.
Three the reasons to reach the Cappuccini: 1) the amazing
view of the city 2) the Church 3) Museo Nazionale della
Montagna.
 Palazzo
Madama Piazza Castello is a
perfect location for a journey through the ages, its
center dominated by an imposing medieval castle with
typical corner towers. This building was built on top of
pre-existing Roman fortification and underneath the Castle
are still visible the remnants of the ancient original
Roman West Gate to the inner walled city. The west side of
the Castle was later rebuilt into a magnificent baroque
facade and building, which was used as the seat of the
first Italian Senate and named Palazzo Madama. "Madama"
means "lady" in Turinese dialect - which is similar to
French language - and initially used as a nickname because
the building was the residence of Maria Cristina of
France. Palazzo Madama underwent restoration works that
lasted for 20 years (!!!) and just reopened for a short
while. In 2006 it will be closed from mid January to mid
October, and I believe it's a pity that a great number of
visitors will not have a chance to see this beauty on the
occasion of the Olympic Games. I was lucky to find it open
in early January!
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