Italy – slightly weird

3rd November 20189th November 2018

The rest

Saturday, 3 November, 2018

The last week in Torino the rains started and it was hard to find a day when it felt OK to be out. It rains in London, of course, but it’s a manageable rain – with few exceptions. In Turin the rain is incessant and heavy, with only short breaks. We did wander, when we weren’t indoors keeping dry and slowly filling cases.

The streets of central Torino – Centro – can be grand but in between these wide boulevards are the quiet narrow streets. Imagine this in central London – even in the back streets and alleys!

I’m also fascinated by the inner courtyards. Just off via Garibaldi there’s a courtyard that leads into other courtyards, each with its own shops and apartments and little cafes. It was raining this day and things were very quiet. It’s like a hidden oasis from the mad shoppers, who are never stopped by rain.

The Piazza San Carlo is a very grand square. Krish was amused by the statue since his favourite crisps are the San Carlo brand. He said that every time he saw the statue he needed to thank the man (is it even San Carlo?) for this taste treat. The square is used a lot for events. In this case they are getting ready for the Chocolate Festival that was taking place the week after we left. Bad timing!

The annual festival of artists’ lights was starting to take shape. We saw a few as we left. This one had projections of lacy patterns over the paving stones. It looked so pretty. In fact, Piazza Carignano is the prettiest square in Centro. If I return, I want to explore it better.

Continue reading “The rest”

31st October 20188th December 2018

Magic and Halloween in Turin

Wednesday, 31 October, 2018

This would be my third Halloween in Torino. The first one I was too tired to go out but Krish and Adrianna did and came back telling me tales of candles, lights, costumes… apparently, Torino was mad for Halloween. The second, last year, I went out too and saw many people in costume wandering about the streets and squares. So this year I was prepared but also curious.

Why is Torino so obsessed with Halloween?

While I was doing research about this, I got sidetracked. Were it not pouring with rain every day and so close to the day I had to pack up and leave, I’d have made this a larger, more elaborate, project – to go visit and photograph all the things that make up this history, part fact, part legend.

The research is a bit overwhelming, to be honest. You need only Google Turin and magic to see the sites which will give you more information. I’ll try to get the main points down. (Edit: I’ve also read this blog entry that slams the whole thing. Decide for yourself. Personally, I’m not unhappy because, as I’ve said above, this is part legend and an entertaining one it is.)

The reasons for Turin’s recognition are rooted in the legend of the founding of the city, born after Zeus had hurled Phaeton, Prince of Egypt, in the river Po. H landed where is now the Fountain of the Four Seasons, located on the banks of the river in Valentino Park. So was founded an Egyptian Turin and Egypt is where magic is said to have begun.

Historians tell us that the Savoy family were always interested in alchemy and the art flourished in Turin. There are said to have been three alchemic caves below the city and the alchemists told Cristina (Maria Cristina of France, the daughter of Henri IV and wife of Vittorio Amedeo I of Savoy who ruled after her husband died) where they were. She never betrayed their secret. Some say they are below the Palazzo Madama, while others locate them in the park of the palace itself. They’ve actually never been found.

Then it seems there are magic triangles. Three points on the map where major cities of magic are located. Torino is in both. The white magic triangle is Prague, Lyon and Turin. The black magic triangle is San Francisco, London and Turin. Turin is the city that has both – of great significance in the world of magic. The statues that mark the points in Turin are for the white, the statues of Castor and Pollux at Piazza Castello, and for the black the Caduti del Frejus n Piazza Statuto, These statues stare at each other across the distance and each has a pentagram on its head.

This explains the mysterious Grotto di Merlinho magic shop is in Piazza Statuto! It’s never been open when I’ve walked by but it’s always intrigued me. (And that’s when I discovered how many magic shops there are in Torino.) Many feel that under the statue – topped by who some believe is Lucifer – is a portal to hell. This is probably connected with the fact that the tunnel that linked Italy to France was there – as well as the entrances to the Alchemic caves. But more about those in a bit.

At the beautiful round Gran Madre church The Holy Grail is said to be buried, pointed at by the gaze of ‘Faith’ holding a chalice. This and the Shroud, then. The plot thickens…maybe.

I also read about the Palazzo Trucchi di Levaldigi (40 Via Milano) also known as Palazzo del Diavolo, the devil’s palace. The legend says that an apprentice wizard tried to summon Satan here and was turned into its ornate creepy door with the devil’s face as a knocker. There are mysterious deaths and ghosts here, they say. The building is now a bank, and it has the highest turnover of night guards in the city. The Torinesi believe in magic. The door is magnificent, with many carvings – the knocker slightly disappointing, not as large as the legend!

Turin has attracted many philosophers, magicians, and authors – Nostradamus, Apollonius of Tyana, Bartolomeo Bosco, Nietzsche… and now me! If I return to Turin, some magical exploration is necessary!

But, anyway, it’s time to move on to the present day Halloween in Turin! And if you want to read more: The New York Times and The Washington Post have articles. Just click!
Continue reading “Magic and Halloween in Turin”

28th October 201828th October 2018

Torino – Thoughts about leaving

Sunday, 28 October, 2018

Today is the first ‘last.’ This is the last Sunday I will be in Turin. I don’t like countdowns. I struggle with mindfulness but I think, despite all my anxiety, I tend to be more of an ‘in the moment’ person on the whole. I’ll think about that some more.

There are no cohesive themes here. I’ll drop in some photos and see what comes to mind.

When I was free on Friday, I took myself to Cianci Piola. I know it’s not fancy but so far all of the places I’ve been, no matter how much or how little I spend, this spot hasn’t really let me down. I’ve vowed to come back at least twice before we leave. I’m looking forward to my Hackney meals and discovering new places, as well as tasting things that aren’t Italian and predictable. However, I will miss this restaurant.

Following is the daily menu mini blackboard they bring to your table, then my meal. Anchovies with green sauce, Tripe and beans, and Apple Mousse with amaretti and cream. I sat inside today because, beleive it or not, it’s quieter. It’s going to rain all week and I hope I can still sit aside, that they have an awning.

I’ll miss this square too. It’s the nicest in Torino. It’s peaceful but there are always people here. Especially at Cianci Piola. There’s also some history, and a great ice cream shop, as well as a view of the Duomo, which is still also on my list for these rainy days. Will I fit it all in? We’ll see.

I went looking for the Lavazza original places. It took a while, since the numbering is a bit obscure. Via San Tomasso is in the very centre of town near Piazza Castello and just south of Via Garibaldi. I found number 5, the original shop but it was an apartment building with four shops at the ground floor. No plaque anywhere so quite difficult to figure out where it might have been. Number 10 (the second shop when Luigi needed to expand) was easier. I knew that it was near the junction of Via Barbaroux so I looked around there. Surprise, there was no plaque but there was a notice in the window. I will go there and have a drink…for fun.

I’ll miss these streets. These old towns comfort me and I’m not fond of wide avenues. When I’m back in London I’ll find my City alleys and I’ll be myself again.

I went to the Museo del Risparmio on my way to a photo exhibit I’m interested in. It’s the Museum of Saving. That’s an odd concept. There were a lot of interactive exhibits and I sat for about an hour watching short videos about how today’s economy was shaped. I actually learned something. Somewhere in there was a viewing room where I saw a Three Stooges type video about forging money – I missed the point somewhere. Too Italian? At the end was a big room that had two videogames – in the first you chose a person and followed their lives to help them spend wisely. In the second you had capital to invest in properties and grow your financial empire – I was terrible at it and lost everything. In the very last room there was an exhibit of piggy banks. I enjoyed that. I must have spent about two hours in the museum. It wasn’t exciting but enough to stir some curiosity about the origins of money and all that followed.

What will I do in London? There are more museums to visit. Perhaps I should give some old ones another go. It’s been ages since I’ve visited the National Gallery. I’ll go back to the British Library and discover a few of the smaller ones I’ve had on my list for a while – like the Comedy Museum. I’ll miss the Geffrye Christmas rooms this year but hope for some events on the front lawn during the Christmas season.

**Ant theme at the museum** — No photos, Signora

The captions tell the rest of it.

London's squares are less casual, less accessible - different — **London’s squares are less casual, less accessible – different**

Will miss the architecture and doors opening into vast courtyards - like hidden cities — **Will miss the architecture and doors opening into vast courtyards – like hidden cities**

**Absolutely will miss the grand doors of Turin. I plan a page of them**

**Loved this Torino symbol, the bull, bursting out of the wall at 20 Via Orfane**

In the Piazza Consolata. Built towards the end of the tenth century, perhaps by the Benedictine Bruningo, the tower belonged to the church of Sant’Andrea, the refuge of monks from the novalese escaped the Saracens. One of the oldest buildings in Turin

Piazza Consolata - I haven't visited the church yet, or the bicerin cafe — **Piazza Consolata – I haven’t visited the church yet, or the bicerin cafe**

I'll miss the market, the ease of it, despite the horrible crowds and sometimes grumpy merchants — **I’ll miss the market, the ease of it, despite the horrible crowds and sometimes grumpy merchants**

25th October 201830th October 2018

Superga – what a difference a year makes!

Thursday, 25 October, 2018

Last year (7 November) we went up to Superga and were blown away by the Alpine scenery and the view of Torino below.

This year I went up alone. First, I got totally confused with the buses and, although I found a perfect bus that went all the way to the funicular, it turned out to be a coach and my BIP card wasn’t accepted on it. So I walked and walked and puzzled over the map and backtracked until I found a bus that would take me to the same spot. And of course I arrived just in time to see the hourly funicular train leave. Last time we were completely alone at that little station. This year a crowd started forming – mostly Italians, a couple of English, and a small French family.

Its not actually a funicular but was originally a little cable driven rack system train. Its name is the Sassi–Superga tramway (tranvia) and it climbs a steep grade for 3.1 km (1.9 miles) up to Superga from the Sassi area in about ten minutes. The altitude at the top is 650 m. (The basilica is a bit higher, at 672 meters above sea level.) The railway was opened on 27 April 1884. The cable driven rack railway system uses cables that run along the side of the track and passed around two large pulleys on each side of the cars, which in turn drives the cog wheels that propel the train consisting of the driven car (occupied by the driver and a brakeman) and up to three passenger cars. This was driven by a steam engine in the upper station until 1922, when it was replaced by an electric motor. After an accident when the cables broke in 1934, work began to convert to a conventional electric rack railway using the Strub rack system and it reopened on 16 April 1935.

Revisiting this Roa art on the way to GTT Torino to take a bus that wouldn't let me on! — **Revisiting this Roa art on the way to GTT Dora to take a bus that wouldn’t let me on!**

View of Superga from the Tranvia exit — **First view of Superga from the Tranvia exit**

Review of the tranvia: Well, it’s a great experience to have done it but for more thrills and a way better view, take the bus from just to the left of the station!
Continue reading “Superga – what a difference a year makes!”

24th October 201826th October 2018

Lavazza – Museo

Wednesday, 25 October, 2018

I’m continually surprised by the amount of history in this underrated and ‘invisible’ spot in Italy. Sure, there’s the Roman origins, but it goes on through its royal presence, its significance in the unification of the country, its entry into industry with chocolate, coffee, and automobiles, and its love affair with innovation.

**Woke up to this weird red sail sunrise**

Innovation is a strange word in Italy, where things seem set in stone. ‘We always do this.’ Tradition is everywhere. I see the people dancing, listen to the Klezmer-like songs at Balon, watch the pageantry of the markets, eat the food that’s been the same for centuries and tastes the same wherever I go. Sometimes it feels quite stiff. And yet there’s also a passion to come up with something new. Maybe this is why Turin has been so immersed in industry – to produce and develop things that led the way.

I’ve watched them building the new Lavazza headquarters over a few years. The company has always been in this area of town, so it made sense that they’d stay more or less put and create the ‘Cloud’ complex. The way it’s all put together, you can really feel the pride. Finally on Wednesday I made the time to go to the museum inside the complex.

On the way to Lavazza, the mountains were the clearest I've seen them this year — **On the way to Lavazza, the mountains were the clearest I’ve seen them this year**

So far, Turin museums have been formal and old fashioned. I’ve not felt the need to linger. Even in the Egyptian museum last year it was the size and not the contents that kept me there so long. The Lavazza museum is quite the opposite. Apart from the Ontario Science Centre, which broke away from the traditional when it opened, I haven’t been as immersed or impressed. It’s innovative and so it seems was Luigi Lavazza, the founder. Continue reading “Lavazza – Museo”