Italy - Surprising Turin
Leonardo da Vinci, Shroud of Turin and the Egyptian Museum
But it's not all about ancient history. The Juventis Football Club and Fiat live here - and the Christmas Lights are fabulous.
Turin - The Shroud
It is also one of the least-known cities outside of Italy in spite of being the spot where two of the world best-known objects reside: Leonardo da Vinci’s self portrait and the Shroud of Turin. Until recently the Shroud was believed to be a mediaeval forgery, dating back a mere seven hundred and fifty years as opposed to two thousand years ago when, as millions of people believe, it wrapped the crucified body of Christ.
However old it is, this simple piece of hand-woven cloth clearly shows the imprint of a body, the face serene, thorns about the head and the marks of wounds and cuts on the body. It is a powerful icon for believers and science still has no explanation for how the image got there.
Turin - Caffe Torino
There are many unusual things to see in Turin. Even just stopping for a cup of coffee can bring its own unique experience. Looking out from the window of the Caffe Torino in Piazza San Carlo there is a brass figure of a bull embedded in the pavement. The story goes that it is a sign of fertility and occasionally you will see men stop to rub their foot over a particular part of the bull’s anatomy. This too has its believers.
Turin - Shopping
Italians come to Turin to shop and one of the best places to start is the fashionable Via Roma which runs through the heart of the historic centre. Its a beautiful street of shaded arcades full of smart boutiques and cafes. There are about fourteen miles of such covered walkways and they are typical of this graceful, elegant city. They are described as the ‘Umbrellas of Turin’, protecting shoppers from sun and rain. Particulary welcome in winter. Come to Turin for some of the best Christmas shopping in Italy.
Many of the big Italian designers have boutiques in Turin but if you can only afford to look, one of the best places to shop is the Porta Pallazo at Piazza della Repubblica. This is Europe’s biggest open-air market where you can buy clothes, household goods, hi-fi’s, fruit, vegetables, all kinds of salami - in fact, almost anything you can think of.
Turin - Balon Market
Just behind Porta Pallazo is the Balon - a really interesting, colourful flea market. There are African wood carvings, Arab bread and pastries, books, jeans, a whole row of stalls selling only shoes, fan-tailed pigeons in cages, a man from Hindustan selling peacock feathers, and much more. It’s a wonderful place to explore and perhaps pick up something odd or unusual to take home.
Turin - The Egyptian Museum
A complete contrast to the noisy, bustling markets is the peace and quiet of the Egyptian Museum which is the second largest in the world - the first being in Cairo. This is yet another example of what a surprising place Turin is. This wonderful museum houses over 30,000 items, the most beautiful being a figure of Rameses II wearing the blue crown which was used only in battle - nearly three thousand years old and looking as though it was carved yesterday. There’s also the oldest piece of cloth in the world, which was found in a tomb.
Turin - the Martini
Before dinner you can try another Turin speciality - vermouth. It was invented here in 1768 and was the result of steeping thirteen different ingredients in wine. Mixed with gin and bitters, it is quaffed around the world as the martini.
Turin also claims to be the place where chocolate-making began under a royal decree in the 17th century - although the people in South and Central America were drinking chocolate centuries before this. But chocolate for eating was produced in Turin and much of it was exported to other European countries.
Turin - Famous for Chocolate
Whatever happened way back then, chocolates are a big part of the Turin scene; there are many shops stacked with every kind of chocolate you can imagine and a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream is a habit you can very easily get into. A favourite is a cappuccino with a milky froth covered in chocolate - sometimes the froth is formed into the shape of a heart. Turin has it’s romantic side too!
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