Torino Orientation

 Buon Giorno!

I didn't do much today, but I'm worn out and still jet lagged. I'm figuring out my part of the city.  The River Po is that way, and the Tourist Zone is this way.  I also learned where and how cross the street.  It's not obvious and drivers don't seem to have a lot of respect for crosswalks.  But I did get in some good walking, and I visited a Very Nice Museum.

But first, some history.  You know with me there will Always be some history.  You may be more familiar with Torino under the name of Turin (of Shroud fame). It also has this French name because it was once the capital of the extensive Duchy--later Kingdom--of Savoy.  The kingdom was trans alpine and had both French and Italian speakers.  The specific area that Torino is in is Piemonte or Piedmont, literally the foothills of the Alps.  I can't see them from my windows, but when I was at the airport the mountains were right there and beautifully snowcapped.

Bits of Savoy were whittled a way, but somehow the Kingdom acquired the island of Sardinia, so when I taught the Unification of Italy I called the place Sardinia-Piedmont. Piedmont was an is still an important economic powerhouse of Italy, and back in the day when Austria ruled the various duchies and city states of the peninsula, Sardinia-Piedmont was distinguished by having a native Italian ruler, Vittorio Emmanuele, a liberal constitution, and a wily prime minister named Cavour.  Cavour was determined that Vittorio Emmanuele would become king of a united Italy.  He traded off the remaining French speaking parts of the kingdom (including Nice where Garibaldi was born) to Napoleon III in return for military support against Austria.  Some military success sparked revolt in Austrian-held provinces and Vittorio Emmanuele did become King of Italy after persuading Garibaldi, who had kicked Austrians out of Southern Italy to accept him as king.

The capital was moved temporarily to Florence until Italy could acquire Rome, but Turin/Torino still has a lot of royal remains, which I intend to visit.  Anywhere you go in Italy you'll find a Corso Vittorio Emmanuele and a Via Cavour.  Now you know why.

This morning I strolled down Via Po to get a look at the castle, which I will visit--maybe tomorrow, licking windows along the way,  There are a lot of attractions within walking distance of my home here.  This is good because my fitness program can be described as "Going to Europe and Walking Around a Lot."

Right around the corner from me is the Fondazione Accorsi-Ometto, which is a museum of decorative arts, and they were having a special exhibition starting today of goodies from Venice.  I was there when it opened and decided to do some Tourist Dharma.  Good choice!  The museum is very rich in paintings, porcelain, furniture, jewelry, and even snuff boxes and card cases.  I saw a lot of very beautiful things.  My favorite as always were the exquisitely appointed period rooms from Rococo through the early Nineteenth Century.

Now I will have a nice apero of some Barbera d'Alba and almonds brought from home.  I believe I've earned it.

Ciao for Now