Wednesday, 25 October (Day Thirty-eight)
My mum told the story that, when my family first moved to the L.A. area (not far from Pasadena) they got up one day and discovered there were mountains at the bottom of the road. They had never seen them before and there they were.
Torino feels like that. If I hadn’t seen them before, I’d not know that the hill with the Basilica (Superga) and the Alps in the other direction were there. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be less smoggy or is it just misty, any time soon. So one of these days we’re just going to have to ‘climb’ that hill to Superga and take it as it comes.
We started the day with a visit to Vanchiglia but for some reason, perhaps because we turned left instead of right… there we were at the Po again. And today the monastery up to the left of us seems to be calling our name.
First there’s the imposing Gran Madre di Dio. I’m not one to go inside churches and I didn’t this time either. However, it’s a beautiful building like a gem on the river. Instead we veer right and walk along the villagey streets at the bottom of the hill where the church of the friars sits.
It’s not a bad climb to the top, where the Monte dei Cappuccini sits. I’m grateful for that! It’s a leafy road with some great views on the way up. Although it’s not the kind of experience I look forward to when I travel, I concede that if there were a clear day, I’d do it again with my camera.
For now, I’ll settle for the misty photos I can get. I’m not sure if this is the best or highest view but from up here I can see the whole sweep of the city with the Mole and the Balon in front of me. My photos today are vague.
When we climb down we decide to explore the area on that side of the river. The neighourhood looks upscale over here with some gorgeous stonework balconies and tiled walls. We find a tree of small orange-yellow fruits that are surrounded by spiky, thorny branches on the way down too. Friends tell me this may be a bitter orange but where are the citrus leaves – I do see a few withered leaves but mostly the nest of thorns. We walk along via Moncalvo enjoying the neighbourhood and noticing that some of the grand houses have only one doorbell. Envy!
Caserma Alessandro La Marmora was built to house infantrymen but during the second world war it became “the headquarters of the National Investigative Political Investigative Office (UPI) of the Republican National Guard (GNR), created in order to suppress the clandestine struggle by all means, thus transforming into a place of detention and torture for all suspected of belonging to Resistance.” I’m quoting that since it’s a mouthful. From the outside we think it’s a jail – it’s grim and dark. It makes me shudder and we don’t stay long.
On a bright note, we find a little cafe for a snack. From the window it looks cute and cosy. At first I think I’ll just buy a little quiche but then Krish decides he wants a chocolate croissant. The guy behind the counter is friendly and cuts the tiny quiche into six pieces and we sit down and enjoy a little rest. There’s a couple sitting next to us who’ve ordered sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a sort of Italian afternoon tea. It makes us smile.
From here we find a lovely Carrefour to browse in but we’re getting tired now. Two buses and we’re home. I’ve started to watch Mindhunter.