Tom`s travels: Torino (26/03/2016)

Visiting our relatives in Alessandria we decided to take a day to visit the beautiful city of Torino. Although we had visited it several times before, it was always nice to go back. After leaving at around 10 am, we decided to stop at the Basilica of Superga, a sanctuary located on top of hill on the outskirts of Torino. The Basilica was built between 1717 and 1731 by the famous architect Filippo Juvarra for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Turin in 1706. It was built in a beautiful late Baroque style and has an impressive dome which resembles that of St Peter's in Rome. The place is unfortunately infamous for the tragedy that occurred here on May the 4th 1949 when the plane carrying the Turin Football Club's team crashed on the side of the hill killing everyone aboard. Nonetheless, the views from up there over the city and the surrounding mountains still fully covered in snow was amazing, despite the little haze/fog hovering around. After appreciating the views we got back in the car and descended down the road towards the city of Turin. We decided to stop halfway and eat a little restaurant called Trattoria L'Ultima Spiaggia which was very rustic but really tasty and cheap. Then after lunch we reached the city center and parked right under the immense square Piazza Vittorio Veneto, We then walked along the long Via Po until we reached the impressive Piazza Castello with at its center the peculiar building with one side the old medieval castle, and on the other the Baroque Palazzo Madama. At the northern end of the square is the beautiful Royal Palace, Behind and all around it are the Royal Gardens which had just reopened so we decided to visit them and despite some refurbishments still going on, they were very pleasant to walk around. Exiting the gardens we headed inside the Cathedral, built in the Renaissance style in the 15th century it had some interesting works of art and sculptures, though the main attraction, the Chapel of the Holy Shroud built in the 17th century containing the Holy Shroud of Jesus, was under reconstruction since the 1997 fire that nearly destroyed it. Across the street from the Cathedral is the beautifully preserve Palatine Gate, the northern ancient roman gates that lead into the city. with the roman road still partly running under it and an archaeological area with the Roman theatre around it. We then headed back towards Piazza Castello, and entered the amazing and probably most beautiful church in Torino Church of San Lorenzo, built in the 17th century in the Baroque style with impressive decorations and cupola. Walking on we reached the pretty Piazza Palazzo di Cittá with at its center the statue of the Green Count, or of Amadeus VI Count of Savoy who during the 14th century fought against the Turks and Bulgars for the Byzantine Empire. To complete the day's visit we headed to one of the most beautiful squares of the city: Piazza San Carlo. Built in the 17th it is surrounded by beautiful Baroque palaces and porticoes and at its center stands the mighty statue of Emmanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy. At the southern end of the square stand two nearly identical churches, the Church of San Carlo Borromeo and the Church of Santa Cristina, though the former looked much better than the latter on the inside. It was then time to leave, so we headed back to the parking lot where we took our car back home to Alessandria.