(click on the image to enlarge)
Still today Torino could recount thousands of years of its history. Founded by the “Taurini”, destroyed by Hannibal (who crossed the Alps next to the town), rebuilt by the Romans (under Augustus as “Augusta Taurinorum”), invaded by the Goths, the Longobards and the Franks (who defeated the Longobards nearby); it was a free commune in the Middle Age and then, dominated by the Savoys dynasty, who made Turin firstly the capital town of their dukedom, then, after Utrecht treaty (1713), of Sardinia Kingdom and finally the capital of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Torino conserves remains recalling many of these events.
Some of the most important examples are: the Roman ruins in the area of Porta Palazzo; the royal palace; the “Medieval Village”, a reproduction built in 1884 along the river Po, for the first Italian Universal Exhibition; the Citadel, what remains of the old city fortifications; squares (like piazza Vittorio Veneto, the widest square in Europe) and palaces of the baroque period (like Palazzo Carignano).
We cannot forget to mention the churches, milestones in the city’s architectural history: just one name, the Cathedral, where the Holy Shroud is kept, the sheet in which it is said Christ’s body was wrapped after his crucifixion.
For people fond of museums, Torino offers a wide range of choices among diversified series of collections. Just some examples: the Egyptian Museum, the second one in the world after the Cairo’s museum for importance; the Gallery of Modern Art, the Museum of Antiquities, the Art and Furniture Museum at Stupinigi Royal Hunting Palace (designed by Filippo Juvarra in 1729 upon request of Savoys), the Automobile Museum, where cars from the most famous manufacturers are exhibited (we have to remember that Torino is the birthplace of the Italian automobile industry) and the “Cinema museum” in Mole Antoneliana, the highest building in bricks in the world and symbol of Turin.
At night, Torino offers a wide range of entertainment, its traditional restaurants, the theatres, concert halls, bars (many historical ones) and discotheques, or simply a walk under the “portici” (arcades), the broad, covered pavements with arches on the street (many kilometres long).
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(Pictures
by Valentina Schettini & Friends)