Torino, Italia
Back in Torino and looking forward to see the Palazzo Reale (the Royal Palace). The kings, queens and princes of the House of Savoy have lived in majestic palaces and austere buildings in the heart of Torino. These palazzi were the heart of their power. There are six in Torino and nine outside of Torino all of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Today, however, we are going to see the Palazzo Reale with Sara. We met Sara at the Caffertteria Antonelli in Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Piazza Vittorio Veneto, aka simply Piazza Vittorio, takes its name from the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in 1918. The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I.Tthe Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the end of the First World War just one week later.
You may also remember that just across the river Po is the Gran Madre Church. Within its basement is the WWI memorial. An underground carpark was built under Piazza Vittorio in 2004, as part of the preparations for the Winter Olympics, above ground parking areas were turned into pedestrian areas. During construction of the carpark workers uncovered 22 skeletons dating from the early 18th century. A study published in 2019 indicates these are almost certainly casualties from the 1706 Siege of Turin. Today it is torn apart again as they make improvements to the tram system which runs up and down Via Po.
We begin the day with our cappuccino and brioche. Sara shows up just a little before it goes 11. She starts out by telling us the history of Piazza Vittorio. At the end of the 18th century the city expanding was expanding and a square near the Po River was created. The Vittorio Emanuele I bridge was built in the early 19th century crossing the river Po. This gave impetus the the city authorizes to make more plans for the area.
Architect Giuseppe Frizzi was chosen to design a piazza in the form for the square, not the traditional circle form. The work was completed in 1825. Some buildings were built in the Baroque style, but most – in the Classical style. In the 19th century the square was used for meetings and military parades. Of course, the most massive parades were in the era of fascism.
The square has the shape of a rectangle, with 360 meters in length and 111 meters in width. The buildings that surround the square are all four-stories tall and were created in the style of Classicism. During the Second World War, they were repeatedly bombed, but they were rebuilt afterwards. The ground floor of the buildings house numerious different cafés, restaurants and shops. The buildings all have porticos which make walking in any weather comfortable.
The slope of the square towards the river is interesting. There difference in height between the two ends of the square of 7.19 meters. But the eye does not notice it. Why, you ask. Well, if you look very closely you can see that the roof tops of the buildings are all the same height. This is accomplished by making the porticos on the ground-floor increase in height as you move to the river. Honestly, you wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t looking for it.
We stopped in front of Pasticceria Ghigo just off the square. Here they make the “Nuvola di Ghigo”, which is the symbol of Christmas in Turin. It is a very special Pandoro made with natural yeast, covered with butter cream and icing sugar. It is described as a “little gastronomic jewel similar to a sweet and delicate white cloud”. It is interesting because everyone seems to know about them. I have seen they may times when passing the shop over the years. I still have yet to meeet anyone who as actually tired one. This goes for Sara as well. Obviously she thought they were important because she pointed them out to us.
It is now a place rich in history and full of culinary treats; in addition to the traditional pandoro, and delicious cakes and pastries, you can enjoy one of the best cups of hot chocolate in the city, topped with freshly prepared whipped cream scooped directly onto the surface of the chocolate.
The Jewish ghetto of Turin was built in 1679 and was enlarged in the 18th century. It had the characteristic galleries on the courtyard, along each side of the four walls. The ghetto was composed of two blocks of buildings, one between the roads Via Principe Amedeo, Via Bogino, Via Maria Vittoria and Via San Francesco da Paola, and the other one between Via Bogino, Via Des Ambrois and Piazza Carlina. In Via Maria Vittoria 25 and Via Des Ambrois 2. Access to the ghetto was controlled by gates which were locked at night. Today it is still possible to see some of the original ghetto gates.
You can see in the buildings some of the results of living in a confined area. Again, look closely and you will see that there are two buildings next to each other, but one has six sets of windows and the other four. This is because the Jewish inhabitants divided the floors to creat more floors in order to increase the living space. The inhabitants suffered diseases and deformities due to living in these cramped and poorly ventilated conditions. On the roads were shops where Jews sold what few goods they could: second-hand items, ritual foods, and garments repaired by very skilled tailors. Today may of these same trades are plied in this area.
The Jews were necessary for the House of Savoy. The economy of the State could not exist without money-lending, therefore private citizens and even the Savoy kings themselves had to appeal to the Jews. After the defeat of Napoleon I in 1814, king Vittorio Emanuele the First was restored to the throne. He reinstated all the old anti-Semitic prohibitions and laws. The first attempt at Emancipation was over, but in the meantime society had changed. The liberal movement had grown, and the monarchy was transformed from Absolute to Constitutional. This transformation also affected the mindset of the Piedmontese leadership.
Important political figures such as Count Cavour and the brothers Massimo and Roberto d'Azeglio, pleaded for the extension of the constitutional rights of freedom and equality to oppressed minorities in the kingdom, including Jews and Waldensians. Eventually, King Carlo Alberto (1831–1849) made a Parliamentary decision in July 1848 permitting the extension of all civil and political rights to the Jews. He proclaimed that differences between religions were no longer a reason for discrimination.
We walked on to Piazza San Carlos where Sara talked to us about Torino’s beloved Gianduitto. You have seen it, you just didn’t know the name. It is the rectangle traps of shaped chocolate bar. Now the love story between Torino and chocolate began as far back as 1560: in celebration of the Ducal Capital’s move from Chambéry to Torino, Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy served a symbolic cup of piping hot chocolate to the city. This passion, or addiction, has created specialties now known throughout the world.
We have already been introduced to the Bicerin, it was here in the Savoy Capital that the Bicerin – a glass of hot coffee, cacao, and milk cream – was conceived in the 1700s. It was also here in Torino that chocolate was transformed. Here new mechanisms to mix cacao, vanilla, water and sugar into a malleable paste (beginning 17th Century) were discovered. This transformation of chocolate into solid bars, gave life to chocolates, or cioccolatini, of every type – from bon bons to pralines, truffles and cremini.
Then shortly after the Risorgimento in Italy Michele Prochet imagined up Gianduiotto, a fused cacao and hazelnuts treat. He did so because of the embargos imposed on Italy at the time. There wasn’t as much cacao, so it was stretched with hazelnuts.Gianduiotto was the very first wrapped chocolate. Gianduiotti were first put on the market for the occasion of Carneval, which is why these Turinese symbols carry the name of the city’s mythical mask, the ruddy-faced Gianduja. Since then many of Torino’s large companies (largely focused in the Piedmont Region, although expert chocolate makers exist all throughout the Peninsula) began to attribute their success to chocolate-making – Peyrano, Baratti & Milano, Streglio, Feletti, Caffarel, Stratta and, above all, Giordano, the only producer today that still hand-cuts its famous chocolate with a knife. The Peyrano Family is the present-day leader in artisan chocolate production, with a tradition passed down by forefather Antonio, once the certified chocolatier for Torino’s elite. We stood in front of Peyrano’s long-standing shop is located in Corso Moncalieri.
From here we headed down Via Roma directly to the Royal Palace. Construction of the palace was ordered by the Regent Christine Marie in 1645. She wanted a new residence for the court after her son returned from the civil war. The chosen location was the previous Bishop's Palace, which had been built in the middle of the new capital of Savoy, Torino, during the reign of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy(1528–1580). Its advantages included an open and sunny position, in addition to being close to other buildings where the court met.
It was expanded, remodeled and restored several times ove the next few centuries. In 1946, the palace was claimed by the Italian Republic and turned into a "Museum of the Life and Works of the House of Savoy". Its rooms are decorated with rich tapestries and a collection of Chinese and Japanese vases. The Royal Armoury houses an extensive array of arms, including examples from the 16th and 17th centuries.
The palace houses the Scala delle Forbici, a staircase by Filippo Juvarra. The Chapel of the Holy Shroud, with its spiral dome, was built in the west wing of the palace, joining the apse (a semicircular recess) of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, to house the famous Shroud of Turin, which belonged to the family from 1453 until 1946. The royal gates of the palace have a golden Medusa symbol embossed on them, in order to fend off intruders.
The whole place is beautiful. They spent a lot of time and energy trying to “prove” themselves as being royal. Working very had to make a connection between the House of Savoy and God. It took a good two hours to see what is probably a small fraction of the palace. The whole second floor is closed to the public. Sara thinks it is because they simply don’t have the staff of man the whole building. I think because there is simply too much to see. A lot like versailles.
Once we finished, we were tired and hungry. We ate lunch in the Caffé Reale in the courtyard of the palace. It was nice to sit down and relax. After lunch we walked home and took a nap. We went and visited Lulu and family for an hour at 6. Then we went to the market to get a few things, before heading home.
That makes it a good day. Today is the 15th consecutive day of more than 10,000 steps. This last week we have cover some 56.7 km. We are getting our exercise. Friday will be a rest day.
Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria
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