architecture

A Day in Turin

Over the summer, I spent several days in Turin, but I spent one day really exploring the city. And so, I want to share what my highlights were from that day.

We started the day off with a trip to the Egyptian Museum. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been obsessed with Egyptology, so this was quite the treat for me! This is a massive collection with rooms of artifacts that we explored all day. We saw the book of the dead, mummies, statues, amulets, pottery, and of course… cat mummies. The museum itself sits in a gorgeous building as well, in the heart of Turin.

After the museum, we walked around the city to look at some popular sights. I had the best guide, as my boyfriend lives just outside the city. First, we saw Piazza San Carlo. There’s a large statue in the center of Emmanuel Philibert by Carlo Marochetti, and there are twin churches behind. It was laid out in the 1500-1600’s, and this is a beautiful piazza of baroque style.

Then, we walked to Piazza Castello, where the royal palace sits. The architecture was gorgeous here.

In this piazza, we saw one of the many “Turet” bull drinking fountains around Turin. The name of the city in Italian, Torino, means little bull. So these little bull fountains are a fun tribute to the city name.

Now for the food! We ate so much this day. Lunch was at Poormanger, a restaurant specializing in baked potatoes with interesting toppings. I had a potato with pesto, tomato, and of course some cheese. My boyfriend had a carbonara potato, which was covered in egg, Parmesan cheese, and cured pork. We also had caponata, a blend of eggplant, tomato, peppers, and onions in a savory marinade.

For dinner, we headed to Piadino, a shop for piadina just outside of Turin. What is piadina? It’s basically a wrap with savory or sweet ingredients. I ate one with chicken, lettuce, tomato, and yogurt sauce. For dessert, we even had a piadina with Nutella!

There’s so much more to see and do in Turin, so I’ll have to make another trip soon. But I’d definitely recommend checking these sites out on your next trip to Italy!

A Beautiful Day in Rivoli

Rivoli is a historic municipality about 9 miles west of Turin in the Italian region called Piedmont. This beautiful city is a mix of new and old, with such a lovely charm.

We started our walk by getting gelato at La Romana, a cute little shop right by the Piazza Martiri della Liberta. I got two scoops, one strawberry and one blueberry with elderberry and lemon. My boyfriend got a bit more elaborate of a cone. He chose to have the cone lined with melted gianduja, which is a chocolate with hazelnut. He then got a scoop of coconut, a scoop of Ecuador dark chocolate, and a nice topping of whipped cream. We ate our gelato by a fountain in the square.

Next, we took a walk up the main shopping street toward the castle. The roads were cobblestone paved and the buildings were colorful and bright. The architecture was incredible.

We stopped to look at all of the sights along the way, including the view of a bell tower off in the distance.

Once we reached the top of the hill, we came up to the castle. This was the former castle of the Savoy king. It also has the best view, looking out over all of Turin.

After sitting here absorbing the view of the city, and the view of a random man doing Zumba in a spandex bike suit by himself, we walked back down the path toward town again. We passed beautiful ornamental prune trees and more historic buildings, and eventually found ourselves back in the center of Rivoli.

We decided to get some dinner and take it back to the castle to eat at sunset. We went to pick up some delicious gnocchi from Bistrot Rigatony. We got one gnocchi dish with several kinds of cheese in a creamy base. We also tried gnocchi with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. We also got a few desserts. We then finished the day with dinner at sunset at the castle park overlooking the town.

Don’t miss out on this beautiful town. It’s definitely on my list to return to again. I recommend visiting Rivoli on your next trip to Italy!

Designer Shopping with a View in Milan

I’m not one to buy fancy designer items typically. I like sales and good deals, and I almost never pay full price. But even I was excited to see this all-designer shopping mall in Milan, just for the views! The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is Italy’s oldest shopping gallery, dating back to the 1870’s, and a must-see for fans of impressive architecture.

While most of the stores are designer brands, you’ll still have plenty to see even without spending an arm and a leg. It’s free to enter the mall, and the atmosphere alone is worth the visit. The buildings are ornately decorated, and the iron and glass vaulted ceilings are a masterpiece.

If you are fortunate enough to have the resources to shop here, you’ll see big name brands like Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, and many others. Or, you can also window shop and just explore.

I definitely recommend checking out this gallery. It’s a beautiful site to look around. It’s right next to the Milan Cathedral, so you can see both in the same day, which is what I did. It’s all in the same plaza area. So check it out next time you’re in Milan!

The Milan Cathedral

One of the first stops on our trip was the Duomo di Milano, the Milan Cathedral. This cathedral’s construction was started in 1386 and didn’t finish until 600 years later in 1965. It is an incredible work of art, and even for non-religious visitors, it’s a must see just for the history and design.

We arrived early morning when it was sunny and warm, and the sun shined through the colorful stained glass windows. There were many intricate carvings and statues. The entire cathedral was filled with tourists all marveling at the intricate design.

The cathedral is supported by giant columns holding up an ornately carved ceiling. Some parts of the ceiling appear older and rustic, while others are covered in carved design. The floors are even beautifully colored with different marble shades creating a pattern throughout the cathedral.

I’ve also never realized how many colors there are to marble. We saw so many incredible statue displays all carved from marble with different saints and figures. Each of them mixed marble colors and gold to form the perfect display, and each told their own story.

One impressive view was the organ. This was a floor to ceiling masterpiece. There’s an area that can be entered, but it was sealed off to tourists.

The morning light was absolutely perfect for the stained glass. The colors were bright and vibrant as they flooded the halls of the cathedral through these massive windows. The level of detail in these windows was impressive. There were tons of little panels, and each panel was a different image with tons of color.

There are few things to keep in mind. There is a dress code to enter. For women, you cannot wear anything that shows your shoulders. You also cannot wear dresses or shorts showing the knees. If you don’t fit the dress code, you’ll need to purchase a white cover to wear over your clothes for modesty purposes. I did not fit the dress code, so you’ll notice me modeling this lovely fashion in the photo of the organ above. It does appear that different guards enforce the rules differently, however, as after the guard change, we noticed no one else was being asked to cover up.

Despite the wardrobe requirements, this was definitely worth the visit. If you’re a fan of art or architecture, check it out on your next visit to Milan!