We have just spent two fantastic days in Torino!

Torino, in 1861 was the first capital of Italy, and it has a very French feel about it! That is probably due to Napoleon, who on June 22nd 1880 entered the city , had the gates and ramparts demolished , and replaced them with broad streets and avenues in the style of Parisian Boulevards. He even erected a guillotine in one of the Piazzas. Don’t you love the French.

The City today has 18 kilometres of Arches and 320 kilometres of tree lined avenues, and heaps of palaces , or Palazzos. We loved it.

Our Hotel was great, not too far from the city centre, although we did take the tram a few times to help Greg’s knees! We had a small balcony with views up the street, as above!

The Palazzo Reale, or the Royal Palace of Torino is in the imposing Piazza Castello. It was built in the 16th Century by the Savoy Dynasty, and designed by the French born Madame Reale Christine Marie of France who wanted a “new worthy sumptuous residence”. What a woman!

It was stunning inside and housed the Royal Armoury which was quite a display.

Connected to the Palace, is the Turin Cathedral, and it is where the Holy Shroud of Turin is kept. The actual shroud is kept in a lead box , so you cannot see it, only a replica! But when in Turin……. we did not take any photos as we thought it would not be appreciated!

The Palace was just as spectacular floodlit at night as was the Palazzo Madama ,(below) now a museum. It was also attributed to Madame Christine from Palazzo Reale fame! She certainly left her mark on the city.

We were told by the Hotel that we must visit the Mole Antonelliana, as it was Torino’s answer to the Eiffel Tower! How wrong can one be!

However it’s claim to fame is that it is the tallest un reinforced brick building in the world with an interesting lift well, and it gave us a spectacular 360 degree view of Torino!

We stumbled across the Galleria Subalpina, an elegant arcade built in 1873 to enable the “beautiful people” to walk in style in inclement weather.

The Porta Palatina , or Palatine Gate, is one of the original Roman gates in the city, and one of the best preserved 1st Century BC gates in the world.

 

 

At each corner you walk around , there is another Palace! This one, (sorry for the scaffolding) is the Palazzo Carignano, built in 1679 and between 1848 and 1861 was the Home of Parliament.

 

The many large Piazzas in Torino were a great place to stop, relax, rest Greg’s knees and have a few refreshments!

Piazza Vittorio Veneto (above) was huge, surrounded by magnificent buildings, and had good beer and made great Aperol Spritz!

Another huge one was Piazza San Carlo (above) .

It was quite spectacular at night also!

We love the fact that in Torino when you order either coffee or “refreshments”, you get food. With coffee , it is usually small biscuits , and with drinks it can be many different things!

 

 

 

Here in Piazza Carignano, the coloured rice chips were interesting, along with the wasabi nuts and candied almonds!

 

 

Of course it was not ALL alcohol. We had read that the “drink” of Torino was the Bicerin, native to the city, so of course , again, when in Torino…….! We read that the drink was invented at Caffe Al Bicherin , so of course we had to go there to try one!

The Bicerin is ….an espresso with hot bitter drinking chocolate and whipped cream layered ( yes you can see the layers) in a glass! We expected it to be very sweet, but it was not too bad at all. We still prefer our cappuccinos though! The cafe has been there since the 18th Century , in a lovely courtyard so it was worth the effort to find it.

 

 

There are many historic cafes lining the arcades in Torino. This one Fiorio, on Via Po , was founded in 1780 and is one of the few that has maintained its original layout with its yellow marble counters. Apparently Mark Twain was a frequent visitor!

 

 

We managed to travel to Torino by train, and left Pierre in a car park at Bra overnight. Luckily he was still there when we returned and we managed to catch the correct trains Tez!!!!!!

Rhonda also did some “shoe shopping” in Torino but still wants to look in Milan for some more! She may need a second suitcase to come home!

We had a wonderful time in Torino , and would thoroughly recommend a visit, we actually enjoyed it more than both Rome and Florence!

So it is Friday night , and yep, it is aperitivi time!!!!!  AGAIN!!!!!!

so it is ciao from us

Love Greg and Rhonda

xxxx