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Published: January 31st 2010
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Home of the 2006 Winter Olympics
Bardonecchia is a great ski resort and worth a visit when visiting Torino. I recently visited Italy...
AGAIN! But this time, as it is winter, I did not go to Sardinia and stay at our favourite B&B,
La Rosa Dei Venti, which I talked about in one of my earlier entries, but to Turin, or Torino in Italian. A much more 'culturally intensive' vacation! Naturally coming from France the most logical is to take the Frejus tunnel which comes out in Bardonecchia, where the 2006 winter Olympics were held.
I discovered that Turin is indeed an ancient city, which was Italy’s first capital, and is now a great industrial district. Each moment in history has left its mark on the city, creating a legacy of culture, architecture and monuments.
As we all know the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, which were held primarily in Bardonecchia, Val di Susa, showed the world an unexpected city, surprising not only people who previously couldn’t have found the city on a map, but even those who were already familiar with it, like me. The success of the games was just the first, important step of an intense process of transformation that the city has been undergoing for a while now. In fact, since the 1990s Torino has
History everywher...
Torino is a stratification of culture, that can be felt when walking the streets. been following a path that has transformed it from an industrial capital, a sector which continues to play a fundamental role in the region’s economy, into a pole of innovation, culture and quality of life.
I have always found Torino to have an extraordinary geographical position, as it is located one hour from the mountains and one hour from the sea and it is - in the words of the great architect Le Corbusier - “the city with the most beautiful natural position.”
The Olympics can be considered to have been a testing ground: as they required installations, organization, competence, enthusiasm and values. And this is the legacy the Games have left behind. Torino could clearly be seen as being not just a modern, efficient and beautiful city, but also a city with a passion for challenges and the confidence in its ability and know-how to work successfully. This passion engulfed the people of Torino and it hasn’t abandoned them: and when visiting the city visitors will definitely feel this for themselves.
In 2011, a century and a half after it spearheaded the country’s unification and served as its first capital, and the celebration of this, Torino
Mole Antonelliana
La Mole, as it is locally referred to, houses the Museum of Cinema. will present itself more dynamic than ever, open to the world - a new, driving force for development, just like in 1861. Time flies, but Torino has proven to be able to keep pace with it. In the years following the Unification, even after the capital was transferred to Florence, the city continued to define the industrial side of its identity in no uncertain terms.
People arriving in town today can recognize the city as it appeared on TV screens throughout the world. This is the new Torino that looks to the future. A city that reacted to the crisis of the automotive industry and its induced businesses by investing in culture and innovation with an eye on the future.
Torino is the home of FIAT (Italian Automotive Factory of Turin), established by Senator Giovanni Agnelli (grandfather of Giovanni Agnelli, “L’avvocato” or “The Lawyer”) and several others. It is also where Italian cinema was born and developed, and it houses today, in the prestigious, Mole Antonelliana, the fabulous Museum of Cinema, which definitely deserves a visit. Turin is also the home of two historical brands Martini&Rossi and Lavazza.
Like every important European capital, Torino is founded on
Bardoneccia
Just look at those slopes!!!! No wonder the 2006 Winter Olympics were a success. a stratification of cultures, populations and civilizations. The city is dotted with evidence of its past that tells a story that began over two thousand years ago. The oldest documents mention a small village at the foot of the Alps called Taurasia, which was destroyed by Hannibal in 218 B.C. On these ruins, in 28 A.D, the Romans built Augusta Taurinorum: a colony with a grid pattern of streets, the ancient origins of today’s urban traffic layout with streets that are parallel and perpendicular to each other, making it very easy to get around and visit the city by foot, or public transportation, even for ‘first timers’.
Like me, if you enjoy eating, you will be baffled by what Turin has to offer. Martini and the rite of
the aperitif - a before-dinner drink accompanied by countless nibbles is a rite that can’t be missed! Important wines and the best of Italian cuisine, can all be found in this city. What can I say, in Torino,
food is both pleasure and cult.
After the aperitif, mealtime features one of the world’s most varied cuisines: grissini, agnolotti, bagna caoda, mixed boiled meats, cheeses, precious truffles, all washed down with
Somthing to see everywhere you look...
Behind every door in Torino is a hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered. Piemonte’s grand red wines like Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, plus marvelous white wines such as Spumante, Arneis, Moscato and acclaimed Passito. And afterwards, a coffee, one of Italy’s excellences that artisan laboratories and important local producers have valorized to the utmost.
A visit to Eataly, the first megastore dedicated to taste in Italy, is a real MUST for all gastronomic connoisseurs... for Torino is the heart of Piemonte’s gastronomy. The city has always been the native soil of famous chefs and grand gourmets, and it has brought forth extraordinary, inimitable and world-famous specialties, like gianduja crème. But your taste buds will soon discover that this is only the sweetest of Torino’s culinary inventions.
One of the more bitter is a famous recipe that is based on a master infusion of flavors: vermouth, a wine mixed with thirteen herbs and spices that Antonio Benedetto Carpano began preparing in Piazza Castello in 1786. The most famous drink in the world still stars in the typically local rite, which I have already mentioned, and which you can clearly see I am a fan of...
the aperitif.
With this said, I think it is clear that I am fascinated by
Early morning in Bardonecchia
Just can't get enough of this place. this city and what it has become, and hope you will soon make it a destination for one of your trips. You can easily fly into the city from a long list of places, take a train, or alternatively, do what I did, and drive there. Which I strongly recommend, as the city is great, but the region is magnificent and has so much to offer. So driving around you will see much more than if you are bound to public transportation. Renting a car locally is also a great alternative. If you manage to do this during the winter, stop by one of the many ski resorts (I chose Bardonecchia) and grab a few slopes. Believe me...
IT IS WORTH THE TRIP! Have fun and let me know what you think.
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sophie
non-member comment
J'adore les commentaires , les photos sont magnifiques et me donnent envie de visiter cette ville romaine.....