Siena & Torino

Hey, I have an idea... Let's go to Siena!

Our class trip to Siena was in the middle of October and the day was clear and beautiful.  It was about an hour long bus ride from Florence and we managed to arrive early enough in the morning that the streets were almost deserted.  First we stopped into a pasticceria/gastronomia called "Nannini" for a coffee and pastry, which the school was nice enough to pay for.  I think I chose to get a caffè latte and the equivalent of a cream filled donut, but some people opted for these cookies called Ricciarelli alla Mandorla, a classic Sienese dessert.  Someone gave me a taste of theirs and it reminded me of marzipan because of the strong almond flavor.  Now, from what an episode of Gilmore Girls has taught me,* I know people generally love or despise marzipan, but if you like the intense almondy thing and want a taste of traditional Sienese baking, I definitely recommend getting these cookies!  Yum.

View of Siena from the Facciatone

As the chilly morning slowly turned into a scorching October afternoon, we climbed up this unfinished façade of the Cathedral in Siena, call the Facciatone, which gives the viewer a spectacular panoramic view of Siena.  The only thing I would recommend is to avoid this particular activity if you have a problem with tight, slight sketchy stone stepped spiral staircases.  Although, compared to the hike up the tower in Pistoia this was nothing.

The Cathedral of Siena

As luck would have it, we were visiting Siena when the 14th-16th c. mosaic floor designs inside the Cathedral were open to the public.  Usually they're covered during the year because they're so fragile, but we got a full view, which was amazing.  Unfortunately there was the drawback of an insanely crowded jumble of pushy tourists inside because the ropes surrounding the mosaics created very few 

Piccolomini Library

pathways.  Ah well, still worth it despite the unnecessary shoving.  My favorite part of the Cathedral tour was going into the adjoining Piccolomini Library, which houses old manuscripts and has the most breathtaking ceiling design from the 16th c.  The combination of the relatively small room with these bright colors that barely left a spot free of some kind of pizazz left me a little dizzy with how much there was to look at. 

Piazza del Campo, Siena

Like most if not all Italian cities, another main attraction in Siena is the huge town square, Piazza del Campo, which interestingly is kind of half-moon shaped instead of the traditional rectangular shape of other Italian piazzas.  We happened to arrive during some kind of ceremony/festival with young boys in brightly colored costumes waving flags or playing snare drums, but our teachers had no idea what it was and kind of amusingly wrote it off as just another town event.  How very Italian...

How about a change of scenery?  Torino it is!

The next weekend we went to Turin, or Torino, which is the name I've become more accustomed to hearing.  It was a three day long trip and mainly consisted of a lot of walking, looking, and eating.  For some reason the school decided to take a private bus instead of the train, and the drive was about 5 or 6 hours even though Google maps claims it is only 3.  Lies!  The only benefit I can see of taking this drive is the view, with the intermittent sightings of the sea on one side and terrace farms on the other.

A Square in Torino

A view of the Mole Antonelliana in the fog

The first day we were in Torino we had a tour that was three hours, and honestly I don't remember much.  The weather was pretty rainy and foggy, making me a bit foggy, and the tour guides kept referencing and quoting in Italian apparently famous Italians who not one of us were familiar with.  Oh well.  After the tour we went to the National Museum of Cinema, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, which is housed in the Mole Antonelliana (shown above).  This would be a really excellent place to go with kids because it is very engaging with some interactive elements.  However, there are definitely some mature elements that make it fun for adults too.  For example, there was this closed-off red-lit room restricted for two people at a time that displayed pornographic photos from the early 20th c.  Weird?  A bit. 

A foggy view of Torino from the 
top of the Mole Antonelliana

Another feature of the museum is the glass elevator ride up to the top of the tower.  As I mentioned before, it was foggy the day we were there, resulting in the view as seen on the right, but if you go on a clear day you can see the Alps.  

Emma at the Cinema Museum

There is a ton of stuff to see at the Cinema Museum, but one of my favorite parts was the make-shift cinema on the main floor.  There were two big screens showing clips from old movies and these reclined red chairs that had two built-in speakers on either side of where your head would be (as modelled by the lovely Emma on the right). If I ever go back to Torino I definitely want to go to the Egyptian Museum (go if you can!), but there just wasn't enough time on this trip.  Luckily, there was a little free time before dinner, so a Emma and I decided to split a hot chocolate, and it was without a doubt the best I've ever had.  So thick and dark that I could barely see the white of the cup before scraping it clean with a spoon.  I don't remember where we got it, but Torino is famous for their chocolate so I would bet most places are good.

One of the many buildings with different food stands

The main event of this weekend trip was Terra Madre, a major bi-annual conference in Torino coordinated by the Slow Food organization.  We arrived at around 9/10 a.m. and left around 8/9 p.m., giving us perhaps a little too much time to explore everything.  While we were there I went to two different conferences, the first was promoting a cooking book and the second was on identifying herbs and their various properties.  The latter probably sounds very interesting, but unfortunately it was all in Italian so I understood about every fourth word.  Ah well, A for effort right?  Probably the best part about Terra Madre is the amount and variety of samples offered.  

Honey (miele) in wine glasses

To the left is a table featuring different kinds of honey.  I think I tasted all of them and it was kind of spectacular how different they all were.  Some were flowery, others more woody, lighter, heavier, etc.  The very light-colored glass of honey on the very far right (hard to see) won some kind of amazing honey prize, but the others were also delicious.

Cherry tomatoes at Terra Madre

Of course there were a few parts to Terra Madre that I think need a bit of rethinking.  There were ample amounts of samples of cheese, chocolate, meats, bread, olive oil, spreads, and drinks, but there were essentially no fruits or vegetables offered, even in the more cafeteria-like tent.  This table shown on the right of cherry tomatoes was the closest I got to fresh produce all day.  They were showing how to tie them together for drying I think, hence the string.  I didn't mind at the time, but thinking back it seems odd that fruits and vegetables wouldn't be offered at an event focused on produce.  Hmm...  Apart from this, I'm glad I had the opportunity to go and eat cheese all day.

The front view of Castello di Rivoli

Our last day in Torino we visited Castello di Rivoli - Museum of Contemporary Art, which has a pretty eclectic collection.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the art, but there were two rooms with different arrangements of leaves/trees.  That lovely smell of autumn which comes from the decaying leaves combined with wet earth filled these rooms.  I don't know if that was the intention, but coming from someone who loves the Fall it was intoxicating.  

Fourth floor viewing room

View of Alps from Castello di Rivoli

The museum also has a good view of the Alps from this tiny glass compartment attached to the castle (as seen in the picture on the left).  Castello di Rivoli is a little bit of a drive outside of the center of Torino, but if you're interested in a surprisingly delicious lunch and contemporary art this is a good place to visit.

From this short experience, Torino felt more Swiss/French/German than Italian, or what I've experienced as "Italian."  Similar and in slight competition with Milan, it is distinctly different from the Tuscan areas I had previously visited, but is no less beautiful or interesting.  The next post will be on my trip to Catania, Sicily (a place almost entirely different from Torino), which was by far the best trip of first semester.  

                           - CAB