10,000 steps in torino
Torino is the perfect walking city, full of porticos, arcades, piazzas and pedestrian areas. And, oh yes, history and street markets and art and lifestyle...
Buongiorno, friends! Thank you for being here. We’re still here in Italy, enjoying our day trips, home improvements, and excellent food and wine! In case you’ve missed them, here’s a wrap up of some of the latest posts from Italy…
A late winter visit to Piemonte… along with a market tour and recipe.
Part two of the potato chronicles.
…and a special post about creating when it’s hard.
Yesterday we spent the day in Torino, the beautiful city of the Northwest. Here’s a bit about this remarkable place (which is one of Italy’s best kept secrets for tourist) and second part for my paid subscribers about our amazing day there - complete with an amazing market tour that I won’t ever forget.
Torino, Italy is a city of transformation. It’s also one of my favourite cities in Italy.
It rose to economic fame in the 1920s when Fiat built its most well known factory in the Lingotto district. Fiat, which stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, produced its iconic Cinquecento (500) at the Lingotto Factory, which was closed in 1982 and tranformed under historic preservation into an international convention center.
It wasn’t just a factory. Fiat recruited line workers from all over Italy, creating a sort of social system by building apartment buildings for thousands of people. At the time, this employment model brought much-needed cash to the extremely poor south of Italy through higher wages that were sent home.
But Torino is more than Lingotto and Fiat. So much more, actually. I’ll let Britannica1 explain the short version of the city’s history, and I’ll highlight the important facts:
The original settlement of Taurisia, founded by the Taurini, was partly destroyed by the Carthaginian invader Hannibal in 218 BCE. It later became a Roman military colony, known successively as Julia Taurinorum and Augusta Taurinorum, rebuilt by the emperor Augustus in the form of an enclosed rectangle divided into 72 blocks (insulae). The remains of the walls and the Palatine Gate and the Palatine Towers are still visible.
Dominated by barbarians after the decline of Rome in the 4th century, the city became part of the Lombard kingdom and then of the Frankish empire. It was linked to Savoy in 1046 by the marriage of Countess Adelaide to Count Odo of Savoy, and it recognized the supremacy of Savoy in 1280 after an intervening period of semi-independence and conflict. Occupied by the French from 1536 to 1562, Turin became the capital of the duchy of Savoy in 1563. It was besieged in 1640 and 1706 (during the War of the Spanish Succession) by the French, who were defeated by Eugene of Savoy in 1706, and it was occupied again by the French during the Napoleonic Wars.
The city became the capital of the kingdom of Sardinia in 1720 and in the 19th century became the political and intellectual centre of the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian political unification. It served as the first capital of a united Italy from 1861 to 1865. Turin sustained heavy air-raid damage during World War II.
Having been a bishopric since about 415 and an archbishopric since 1510, Turin is rich in ecclesiastical architecture. Churches include La Consolata, which underwent a number of alterations, most notably by the Baroque architect Guarino Guarini in the late 1600s; the Waldensian Church (1853), the first Protestant church in Turin; and the nearby basilica of Superga (1717–31), long the royal burial church. The Renaissance-style cathedral of San Giovanni Battista (1498), with the brilliantly original Santa Sindone Chapel (1694) by Guarini, houses the Shroud of Turin, a piece of linen long thought to be the burial garment of Jesus (note from Diana: I love a good shroud story. The shroud is part of my favourite Catholic folklore from grammar school). The cathedral and chapel were severely damaged by a fire in April 1997 and underwent major restoration work.
Photography: Museo Reali Torino
A ducal and royal city for centuries, Turin has many fine palaces. The Madama Palace, begun in the 13th century, owes its name to the resident widows of the 17th-century dukes of Savoy. Used by the Sardinian Senate in 1848–60 and by the Italian Senate in 1861–64, it now houses the Museum of Ancient Arts. The Carignano Palace (1679), the birthplace (1820) of King Victor Emmanuel II and once the meeting place of the Sardinian chamber of deputies and of the first Italian parliament, now houses the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento. The Royal Palace (1646–58) houses the Royal Armoury, with one of the finest collections of arms in Europe. The Academy of Science (1678), formerly a Jesuit college, now houses the Museum of Antiquities, the Egyptian Museum, and the Sabauda Gallery. Other secular structures include the remains of the old citadel; the Mole Antonelliana, begun in 1863 as a synagogue and later completed by the city; the modern Turin Exhibition Buildings and Gallery of Modern Art; and numerous public monuments to significant figures in Turin’s past. Other museums display collections on artillery, automobiles, mountains, cinema, and natural history, zoology, paleontology, and mineralogy. There are also several fine libraries.
Today, Torino, capital of the region of Piemonte, is a city known for its style, design, food and culture. Since we moved to Piemonte in 2003, Torino has been completely redefined. It’s where the Eataly movement began, with Lingotto being home to the very first showcase of the concept. Slow Food is part of Torino culture, having been founded in the hills and valleys outside the city.
Within two hours of Torino, you will find the Swiss and French borders (the second of which has a huge influence on the cuisine of Piemonte and Torino), Barolo and Barbaresco (the king and queen of Italian wines), the Alps of the Aosta (providing a richness to Piemonte cuisine with its melting cheeses and the unbridles use of butter). Piemonte has the best wine in Italy and arguably the best food, as well. This is, of course, always up for discussion, but there’s no doubt that hoards come to Piemonte, especially in the autumn to experience the grape harvest and the famous (and extremely expensive) white truffle (tartufo bianco), shaved delicately over a plate of perfectly cooked and buttered tajarin (tagliatelle).
Torino has become a center of design and architecture. The city itself is a mixture of baroque, roccoco, neoclassic, art nouveau and modern architecture. It has a vibe, a really strong one, and many of its beautiful castles, piazzas and residences have been restored to their original glory. The city sits on the Po River, which flows to its eastern side, bordering the Quadrilatero Romana and university district. Parks run along the banks of the Po, and on a clear day, the Alps to the north are in full view from the city.
The iconic Mole Antonelliana houses Torino’s Cinema Museum.
Let’s take a deeper dive into Torino as I take you on a personal tour.
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