Saturday May 13, 2023
One thing I forgot to mention is the place we are staying provides breakfast at a local bar cafe. Our train today is fairly early so we arrive at Bar Caravaggio when they open at 0730. We get to pick two pastries or croissants and a cup of cappuccino or coffee. Today are lemon filed croissants and cappucino. Then we get our bags and make the 15 minute walk to the station. We are going to Torino (Turin) and change trains in Milan. Our train leaves Mantova at 0824 and is a local train and we have a fast train booked from Milano to Torino with a 30 minute layover so we should be Ok even with a small delay. Milan is a big station but everything goes smoothly and we arrive in Torino on time at 1210.
Originally, our apartment owner told us if the room was not ready, we could leave our bags with the concierge of the building. We always confirm our arrival time and info a few days early and we got a message last night saying the concierge is closed and check in is at 1500. This did not make us happy. So when we got off the train, we cross the street and see a tourist info place. I go in there to get a map and info on buses and metro we might be using. We decide to make the short walk to the apartment to check it out. We have a code to get into the building and for a lockbox outside the apartment. We get in the building and take the very old, small, and slow elevator to the 5th floor (6th in USA). I get the key from the box, open the door and the apartment is not clean yet so we reverse the procedure and decide to text the owner and see what is possible. I am not sure why we just can’t leave our packs in the apartment, maybe she doesn’t trust her maid, but we do say she said we might be able to get in at 1300 and could she let us know when it is ready. She agrees to that.
We walk with our full packs to a square with two churches we were going to see but they closed before we got there. We do find the TI in another piazza where we can buy our Torino Card which we will be using for museums, castles, and transportation for 5 days. The other TI by the station could not sell it. It is a bargain as we get one half price by showing our train ticket. We will not be using it until Sunday afternoon as it starts with the first use. We are trying to figure out where a Sicilian to go place is for some food, when we get a text that our room is now ready. We make our way back to the apartment and into the slow, old elevator which barely fits us both with our packs, in fact we actually have to back into it to make it work, and up to the apartment. We are here for 7 days and we picked this place for its size, location to the station and quietness, as we are in an inner courtyard. It is very large with a full living dining room, bedroom and nice sized kitchen. It should do nicely for our week here. We hang out and have some cake and coffee before heading out in the early evening.
We walk to a small church, the Basilica Santa Maria Austrliatrice and then around a local market which sells a bit of everything from the standard fruits, veggies, and meats to all kinds of clothing and some electronics. Nearby, we spot some ancient Roman ruins which were the Palatine Gate, the northern entrance into the city. It was on the north south axis road and was built out of brick and stone around 25 B.C. It is te best preserved Roman Gateway in the world. The gate is guarded by statues of Augustus and Caesar and two large circular towers flank the gate. At about 95 and 80 feet the gate and towers dominate the surrounding area.
We spot a tower and church so we head over towards them. It turns out to be the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista. It was built on the site of three previous churches and its renaissance architecture was created in 1491. The church is dedicated to the patron Saint of Turino, Giovanni Battista (John the Baptist). Its facade is fairly plain but inside we discover a series of chapels, one of which is that of the Holy Shroud, which is the linen cloth in which Jesus’ body was wrapped. The image of his face and body is imprinted on parts of the cloth, along with blood stains from his crucifixion wounds. Even if you do not believe in Jesus, the historical value of theses church artifacts and relics are really incredible. Behind the altar, there is a large window which seems to open into another church or chapel and we are not sure if that is where the actual shroud is kept as the chapel of the shroud we saw contains a copy. Of course, there is also a reliquary of St Giovanni here.
We had learned from the TI that Palazzo Madama, a place turned into museum is open tonight for a special price of 1 euro. It is on our list and part of the Torino card we bought, but we figure that if we see it tonight, it will for up time later in the week. The palazzo was built in the first century B.C. And stood for hundreds of years under the Roman Empire. In after years it was built upon, serving as defensive fortifications and in the 13th century, became a palace. In 1848, it became the seat of the first senate of the Italian Kingdom. Madama refers to the royal title of Maria Cristina of France and Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia-Nemours, the women behind te modernization of the palace. Today it is the museum of ancient art. We stand in line to get in after paying our 1 euro fee. We see a few nice items but are disappointed as they did not say that about half of the museum is closed off on this special night. Seems a bit misleading. We will probably come back and see the parts that were not open later in the week. We end up just getting a couple of slices of pizza for dinner before returning to our apartment. It has been a long day and we aim to get some rest. Good night.
Expenses Train from Mantova to Turin 51.80E Torino Card 73.50E Pizza Dinner 8E Assorted Groceries and Wine from Carrefour 23.11E Palazzo Madama Museum 2E Golden Eagle Apartment 106.60E Walked 9.0 Miles
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