Ciao tutti,
As my last class of the semester was winding down a few
weeks ago, my friend Mollie and I decided to take a short day trip to the
northern Italian city of Torino (Turin)!
The weather was beautiful in the Piedmont region, where
Torino is the capital city. I would like to go back there at some point later
in life to explore more of the area and countryside. But as we were just there for
the day, seeing only the city of Turin was just fine.
We wandered around the main piazzas of the city, taking in
the beautiful architecture and scenery around the river Po. We also rode the
elevator to the top of the Mole Antonelliana, which is one of Torino’s tallest
and most famous structures. From the top, we got great views of the entire
city. We also visited the duomo
(cathedral) to see where the Shroud of Turin lies. The actual Shroud is put
away, but there is a picture of it on display at the Cappella della Sindone (Chapel of the Shroud) within the cathedral.
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| Piazza Vittorio Veneto, with the Pantheon-looking Chiesa Gran Madre di Dio in the background |
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| Me at the banks of the River Po |
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| view of Torino from atop the Mole |
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| il Palazzo Reale |
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| inside the Church of San Lorenzo |
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| the duomo (cathedral) |
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| La Cappella della Sindone |
After seeing the main sights, we headed down to the southern
end of the city to check out the Olympic park. (Yes, I have kind of developed a
pattern of visiting Olympic host cities while here in Europe). Torino hosted
the 2006 Winter Games, and as such, most of the notable Olympic sights like the
ski jump and the bobsleigh track are located in the Piedmont countryside outside
of the city proper. However, the main Olympic stadium as well as the
ice-skating rink are still inside the city, so that’s where we went to see.
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| It was a little difficult to find the Olympic stadium, as we kept getting lost in these surrounding parks. Luckily the weather was great! |
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| The Olympic stadium and torch (with rock sculpture on right) |
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| lo stadio olimpico |
It’s nice to see these Olympic facilities still in use after
the Games. All around the park, there were people jogging and enjoying the nice
weather; and moreover, the Olympic stadium is still used today by one of Torino’s
soccer teams.
I’m very glad I got to see Torino (even if only briefly)
before I leave Italy next month.
Ciao for now,
Augusto
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