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Saturday, October 12, 2024

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Torino, Italia

Side trip to Nichelino, Italia

 

Buongiorno, it was a long night. It was nearly impossible to find a position to fall and stay asleep. Toss and turn all night long. Finally, at 05:00, it was enough that getting up was the only thing left to do. Mary was able to sleep until about 08:30. She was still tired however, also not having slept very well.

 

Doing laundry seemed like a reasonable thing to do. There isn’t that much, but the towels could use a wash. So, at 08:45 it was off to the lavanderia a gettonil (gettonil is a term which seems to cover the coins used or sold by the laundromat; these coins then operate the lavatrice e asciugatrice, aka washer and dryer). ‘Eria” added to the end of a word indicates a store relating to that object. The laundry was finished up by 10:00 – 10:15. There aren’t any plans for today, except to go to the Salone del Pane about 15:30. So, napping was in order, especially since sleep was so elusive last night.

 

Apparently, Salone del Pane is a two-day event, today and tomorrow, where one can discover and taste the best baked goods from Piemonte. Everything from classic bread to breadsticks, from pizza to viennoiserie (Viennese pastries) by regional master bakers, using traditional and modern techniques. This event is combined with FLOReal. FLOReal is an event that is designed to bring people closer to the world of plants. Today it, in collaboration with the Festival del Verde of Torino and the metropolitan area, offers a 360-degree experience of the plant world: from the exhibition and sale of the botanical collections of the best Piedmontese and Italian nurserymen, to artisans and agricultural producers who transform plants into food products and essences.

 

Both of these are done in the elegant setting of the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, a UNESCO heritage site since 1997. The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi (Italian for 'hunting residence' of Stupinigi) is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Built as a royal hunting lodge in the early 18th century, it is located in Stupinigi, a suburb (italian frazione) of the town of Nichelino, approximately 10 km (6 mi) southwest of Torino. The place is huge! Beautiful as well.

 

The Palazzina is defined by the four arms of St. Andrew's Cross, divided by the central axis that is aligned with the path that leads from Torino to the palace through a tree-lined avenue that runs alongside farms and stables and other old dependencies of the building.

 

The core nucleus consists of a large central oval hall from which the four wings depart, which the royal apartments and those for guests. The large double-height oval hall with balconies concave-convex, is covered by dome surmounted by the statue of the "Cervo", by Francesco Ladatte. With the departure of Juvarra from Torino, King Charles Emmanuel III (1701 – 1773) entrusted the direction of the work to Giovanni Tommaso Prunotto, who provided for the expansion of the building starting from the sketches left by Juvarra, thus trying to safeguard the complex play of lights and shapes.

 

The interior is in Italian Rococo, made of precious materials such as lacquers, porcelains, gilded stuccos, mirrors and roots that today extend on an area of about 31,000 square meters (333,000 square feet), while 14,000 sq m (151,000 sq ft) are occupied by adjacent buildings, 150,000 sq m (1,615,000 sq ft) by the park and 3,800 sq m (41,000 sq f) by the external flowerbeds; Overall, there are 137 rooms and 17 galleries. Among the fine furnishings made for the building should be mentioned those of the carver Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo, Pietro Piffetti and Luigi Prinotto. The building preserves decorations by the Venetian painters Giuseppe and Domenico Valeriani, by Gaetano Perego, and by the Viennese Christan Wehrlin. There are noteworthy frescoes by Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli, Gian Battista Crosato and Carlo Andrea Van Loo as well.

 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t time today to go into the building itself. We did wonder through some one the galleries or wings of the building where the various events were taking place. Honestly there was sufficient walking just to see all the plants and taste some of the bread. There was even bread ice cream; not something one needs to try more than once, but it was there.

 

Afterwards it was back to Torino. We got back to our apartment about 19:30. We played a game of cards and called it a night.

 

Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico e Maria

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