It’s been a while since we were in Italy, so a quick city break — this time to Turin (a new city for us). The central city is rather impressive, wide colonnaded streets and some large piazzas. And with the streets being laid on pretty much on a grid system, you get some very long urban views, with occasional glimpses of the mountains beyond. We (unsurprisingly) had some pretty good meals, and paused not a few times in cafés — for the best ever macchiato, go to the delightful Caffe Mulassano. But the high point of our visit was (surprisingly) the Museo Egizio. Yes, of course this is famous, usually said to be the best Egyptian museum outside Cairo: but to be honest we went a bit dutifully, only to be bowled over. The collection really is quite overwhelming. The museum is undergoing refurbishment, and a lot of the exhibits are still shown in a very old fashioned way, but even so, the cumulative effect especially of all the small ancient grave goods is astonishing. And the theatrically lit new display of the monumental statues is exceedingly dramatic. Surely unmissable if you happen to find yourself in Turin.
I love Turin. Went there a number of times for the big Slow Food Salone and Terra Madre. Classic cafés and café culture, chocolate and hazelnut, street life, streetcars, urban grit, vistas, …
Ah yes, the chocolate and hazelnut …
Ha, my hometown! Yes, it was remarkably improved after the 2006 Winter Olympics.
As to the Museo Egizio: every elementary school pupil in Turin is taken there on a field trip — imagine the excitement of an 8 year-old seeing an actual mummy, with somebody’s body under the wraps.
The Museo was full of excited school parties!
Oh, and the new Metro started for the Olympics and now extended is really well done. We took it out to the main Eataly, which is also a must-visit for Slow Foodies :-)