Italy – Worktime

1 – 5 March 2019; Turin

Transit to Turin

Our departure from Como was without issue. We dragged our bags to the station and joined the train bound for Milan0 Porta Garibaldi Station intending a short interlude there before leaving again for Turin on a second train. The planned transit at Milano Porta Garibaldi was 25 minutes but when we arrived, the departing platform was not listed on the departures board. We waited in the tunnel underneath the platforms, positioned towards the middle (hedging against the final location of platform) and waited for the departure platform to be updated. And we waited. And we waited. With three minutes before the scheduled departure, the departing platform details were finally revealed. With elevated blood pressure, we undertook an undignified scramble to get to the specified platform and locate our assigned carriage before the train departed without us. Suffice to say we made it – just.

Our accommodation in Turin was about 20 minutes walk from the Porta Nouva train station. We arrived in good time to meet with Eugenio who let us into our accommodation and provided some useful local information (where the supermarket is, where to buy metro tickets, here is a really good restaurant, etc.)

The Royal Museums of Turin

The Royal Museums of Turin comprise a collection of separate but adjacent museums spanning more than three km:

- - - Royal Gardens
    - Royal Armoury
    - Royal Library
    - Sabauda Gallery
    - Royal Palace
    - Museum of Antiquities

We were able to visit the armoury, palace, gardens and museum of antiquities.

Royal Armoury Turin – bring your own bottle of Brasso

Royal Armoury Turin – Greg and the horsey

The Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale di Torino) was the palace of the House of Savoy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernised by Christine Marie of France (1606–63) in the 17th century.

Royal Palace Turin – Daniel Gallery – after the architect Daniel Seyter

The palace also includes the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, which was built to house the Shroud of Turin. In 1946, the palace became the property of the state and was turned into a museum. In 1997, the palace was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with 13 other residences of the House of Savoy.

By coincidence, also in 1997, the Chapel of the Holy Shroud was severely damaged by a massive fire, the cause of which is still a mystery. The Shroud was saved but the chapel was closed to the public for more than 21 years while the restoration of its dome was completed. The chapel reopened in Sep 2018 after a cost of more than €30 million. The upper domed sections of the chapel are magnificent in their scale and in the mathematical perfection of their design (a series of alternating rotated hexagons).

In the following image you can see the damage to the altar that used to hold the Shroud. Within the next few months (European spring 2019), the chapel will be closed again while repairs to this altar are undertaken. We are fortunate indeed to have arrived during this window when the chapel is open despite it not actually displaying the Shroud itself.

Chapel of the Holy Shroud Turin showing fire damaged altar

The Shroud is actually stored in the adjoining Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. The Chapel of the Holy Shroud is directly connected to the Cathedral by two winding marble staircases either side of the sanctuary and above the sanctuary, it is open into the chapel. This design allows you to be seated in the Cathedral and look up above the sanctuary to see the altar that would be holding the Shroud. And just for good measure, a full sized reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” adorns the rear wall of the Cathedral and is in much better condition that the original.

Holy Shroud of Turin display cabinet within the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

The Chapel of the Holy Shroud can be seen at the rear of the Cathedral (below) rising above the dome of the sanctuary. To the left is the bell tower – which we had to climb – of course.

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist Turin with bell tower

View of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud from the bell tower of Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist Turin

Sacra di San Michele

The Sacra di San Michele is an abbey built between 983 and 987 at the top of Mount Pirchiriano, 40 km away from Turin. It is understood to have been the inspiration of Umberto Eco’s best-selling novel “Il nome della rosa” (The name of the rose) which was turned into a movie of the same name in 1986 starring Sean Connery.

Sacra of Saint Michele – viewed from the pedestrian approach

Getting there on foot involved taking a bus from Turin and then scrambling up a goat track.

Trekking to Sacra of Saint Michele from Chuisa di San Michele
Chris setting a rapid uphill pace

According to Google, the goat track route would deliver us at the summit where the abbey is located within about 45 minutes. I’m not sure why Google would lie and I’m positive I traversed the route correctly but it took nearly two hours to reach the summit – arriving just in time for the midday Mass.

Sacra of Saint Michele – entrance steps up to the church

Sacra of Saint Michele – Stairway of the Dead

Celebration of the Mass was in Italian. Chris was sure the priest was spruiking the local pizzeria as there was a lots of Pizza here, Pizza there going on with associated arm waving. My feeling was the sermon made as much sense as some I’ve heard in English.

Sacra of Saint Michele – church sanctuary

The return trip from the summit was just as arduous as the assent. In many places the path was hidden from view by large collections of windblown leaves making it both slippery and treacherous. Of course I came to grief and the following image is surprisingly clear despite Christine having to control her laughter while taking the photograph.

My leg’s broken – stop laughing!
The downhill trek from Sacra of Saint Michele to Chuisa di San Michele

The Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum of Turin is the world’s oldest Egyptian museum, founded in 1824 and ranks second in size only to one in Cairo.

Dedicated exclusively to ancient Egyptian culture and art, the museum’s collection has been the subject of interest for some of history’s most important Egyptian scholars. Jean-François Champollion, who deciphered the Rosetta Stone, has studied artefacts held at this museum.

We spent a whole day in this museum such was the quality and breadth of material to view.

Parkland along the River Po and the Museum of the Holy Shroud

We spent the final day in Turin visiting a large park adjacent to the River Po and the Museum of the Holy Shroud.

River Po and the Catholic Church, Santa Maria del Monte dei Cappuccini viewed from Parco del Valentino Turin

The Museum of the Holy Shroud presents historical, scientific and artistic aspects of research into The Holy Shroud. Scientific explorations commenced in 1898 with the first photographic images taken of the Shroud.

Turin turned out to be a magical city with much more to do than we could manage in the four and a half days we were there. Again we were blessed with the very best of weather.

We leave Turin and Italy making our way into France. Our first stop will be in Nice.

ciao bella Turin!

PS – Chris got pinged by the guards for walking on the grass in the Royal Gardens.

26 – 28 February 2019; Como – addendum

It may be paranoia, or my heightened sense of observation and Holme’s like skills of deduction, but I fear my commentary on our departure from Milan for Como in our previous blog post may have been interpreted by some of our dear readers as a good story; some idle text to fill the initial void of a blog, looking for the creative hook to commence the core of the theme at hand.

Let me assure you, dear reader, these marchers were real and they were LOUD. Like all motorbikes in Italy (which have their exhaust baffles removed for aesthetics) these marchers wanted those within a 500 metre radius to know they were unhappy. No, they wanted you to share their pain – audibly!

The young Sherlock’s amongst our dear readers will have observed the lead banner bearing the ABB logo. This would be the ASEA Brown Boveri company, a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich operating mainly in robotics, power, heavy electrical equipment and automation technology areas. I can confirm these marching protesters were not robots (due to their principal lack of trailing cables). I would expect these workers were marching and protesting about not having been replaced by robots by this corporate giant. Imagine how much quicker the monumental cathedrals and related structures found in Italy and other places could have been assembled using robots.

CERN and the LHC (Large Hadron Collider)

The LHC at CERN outside Geneva is a particular place I wanted to visit on this trip. CERN has a rigid visitor policy wherein they provide free tours in English and French every day for a limited number of visitors (24). To get on a tour you have to apply via their web site. The rules of engagement for this process are well defined and based on a first come, first serve basis within a very limited time window.

We had tried on multiple days to submit an application only to find the window had closed on the numbers for that day. I’ve stayed up till after midnight, been on-line before 6 am and attempted other combinations trying to secure a tour – all to no avail.

However; I am now pleased to advise that following patient programming of an automation script we have been confirmed on TWO tours at CERN. I may be able to sell one of these tours on eBay given they are as scarce as hen’s teeth.

Christine dearest and that itinerary …

I also wanted to make a comment about the lack of blog updates on this trip compared to our trip to the UK and Ireland in 2016. Dearest Christine, who has arranged our itinerary, has packed our schedule so full of adventures and delicious deviations that it is all I can manage at the end of the day is to copy the day’s photographs onto the backup hard drive before falling into a stupor on the floor at the foot of the bed.

c’est la vie.

26 – 28 February 2019; Como

As we were packing to depart Milan for Como, a commotion from the street below attracted our attention. It turned out to be some sort of union march with workers carrying banners and making lots of noise with loudhailers and crackers. We’re not sure what these guys were complaining about but they were making a hell of a racket and after some time they eventually disappeared around the corner.

We left our apartment, dragging our bags heading for Milan Central Railway Station, only to meet the striking workers again at the very pedestrian crossing we needed to cross to get to the subway entrance. What to do? Do we sneak across the line of marching and chanting protesters inviting their wrath? After a few hesitant moments we decided “when in Rome…” and so proceeded across the intersection dodging the marchers, loudly yelling our support for whatever it was they were complaining about.

The train trip from Milan to Como was less than forty minutes and we soon arrived at Como San Giovanni railway station overlooking the city centre and the edge of beautiful Lake Como.

Our apartment was up a few flights of stairs overlooking a piazza and with a green grocer’s shop below. Dumping our bags we headed for the lake’s foreshore and then up a funicular railway to the village of Brunate to get a better view over Como and the southern reaches of the lake.

The railway was opened in 1894 and has a maximum gradient of 55% with a transit time of around seven minutes. The village of Brunate is situated approximately 700 metres above sea level and remains a holiday destination for (rich-bastard) families from the Como and Milan region who’ve built many villas here. After a quick look around Brunate we headed on foot along the approved goat track heading for Volta’s Lighthouse which stands on a hill in San Maurizio, 150 metres above Brunate.

The walking path from Brunate to the lighthouse took about 40 minutes but the effort was worth the wonderful views over the Alps and the surrounding lowland. The lighthouse was built in memory of Alessandro Volta (who developed the first electrical cell and who the ISO standard measure of electrical pressure [Volt] is named after). It was opened in 1927 on the 100-year anniversary of Volta’s death.

The next day we took a bus ride up the western side of the promontory jutting out into Lake Como to the township of Bellagio. Leaving early we arrived before many of the shops were open and the place had a wonderful quiet presence about it which was in stark contrast to the bus driver who managed to navigate the bus along stretches of road often no wider than the bus itself at speeds Stirling Moss would have baulked at all the while listening to disco hits of the 1970s.

I won’t try to relate the number of times the bus would be dragged to a rapid stop only to creep along while another vehicle would be trying to pass in the opposite direction – again with not much space between them and the sides of the road (often someone’s front living room wall).

We wandered along the foreshore, through manicured parks and across to the other side of the promontory before returning to investigate the narrow winding streets set in the hillside over the town beset with many small shops. After lunch we returned to Como via the ferry making several stops along the way. The ferry was in fact a hydrofoil and it was great to feel the surging power as the foils lifted the hull clear of the surface of the lake. It brought back fond memories of trips across Sydney Harbour to Manly when hydrofoils provided a rapid transit option for this route from the 1960s to the mid 1980s.

For balance, the next day, we headed by bus to Managgio along the western shoreline of Lake Como arriving more relaxed due to a wider roadway and in time for a pleasant lunch in the piazza watching the sun glistening off snow peaked mountain ridges. Along the way we passed George Clooney’s summer residence, Villa Oleandra, at the village of Laglio, reportedly purchased for ~AUD 14,000,000 in 2002.

Upon our return to Como, we visited the cathedral of Como. Described as the last Gothic cathedral built in Italy it is built on the site of the earlier Romanesque cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore. Construction commenced in 1396, 10 years after the foundation of Milan Cathedral and did not finish until 1770.

The weather in Como has been perfect with blue skies and cold enough to warrant scarves and jackets. Our stay has been most enjoyable with Como and the surrounding townships not yet overrun with the hordes of tourists that are attracted to such places when the weather becomes a little warmer.

Addio Como. Ciao Turin.

21 – 25 February 2019; Milan

Our train trip to Sydney was uneventful and we were able to check-in and weave our way through the duty free area without much hassle before locating the Emirates lounge where Chris was able to enjoy some tasty snacks and aperitifs.

Chris snacking in Emirates first class lounge Sydney

The sector to Dubai was a little more than fourteen and a half hours arriving just after midnight local time. We were able to freshen up and relax in the business class lounge before departing again for Milan around 3:45 am local time. And seven hours later we touched down at Malpensa International airport, delivered safely into the cold winter air of Milan.

The train trip from the airport into Milan brought us to Central Station where it took quite some time to find the mystical vendor buried in the depths of the cavernous station who was able to sell us some metro tickets (a carnet [multi-use] ticket). For this privilege we had to queue for thirty minutes along with people wanting to purchase cigarettes, newspapers and bottles of water. Welcome to Italy!

Our accommodation is located about five minutes from the Missori Metro station. After sussing out the Metro system we emerged, dragging our bags onto the street, intent on finding our home for the next five nights.

Our apartment is on the third floor overlooking a main road. During our stay here, on a number of occasions, I’ve recalled the line from Banjo Patterson’s “Clancy of the Overflow” ‘…. I can hear the fiendish rattle of the tramways and the buses making hurry down the street…’. Milan’s transit system is extensive, varied, pretty regular but in serious need of some lubricating oil.

After unpacking our bags, we went in search of Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano). The construction of the current building commenced in 1386 and took more than 600 years to complete and is the largest church in Italy (the larger St. Peter’s Basilica is in the State of the Vatican City).

Milan Cathedral – one column for each week in the year

The plan consists of central nave and four side-aisles crossed by a transept followed by choir and apse. There are fifty two columns supporting the vaulted ceiling with those of the central nave having a height of around 45 metres. On the outside, the terraces and roof are equally impressive. A “Gold Madonna” sits atop the Madonnina’s spire at a height of more than 108 metres. You can see the “Gold Madonna” peeking through the top of the two spires to the right of the main entrance door below.

We visited the Milan Art Gallery spending many hours reacquainting ourselves with medieval and renaissance religious art before proceeding to book a viewing session of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” which is housed by the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a UNESCO World Heritage listed site.

The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci, Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie

Access to this artefact is tightly controlled with no more than twenty five people allowed in for fifteen minute intervals. At the appointed time, you present yourself with ticket to be scanned. No bags are allowed and you pass through a metal detector with additional hand metal detectors into a waiting corridor. After fifteen minutes, the doors in front open and you are allowed into the viewing hall. “The Last Supper” mural is at one end and a larger fresco of the crucifixion at the other end. The lighting is subdued and flash photography is not allowed. Both artworks have suffered from the passage of time and multiple, delinquent incidents. Leonardo used a dry technique, painting directly on the wall compared to the more traditional wet fresco. This decision has left the “The Last Supper” prone to deterioration and it has undergone numerous restorations, most recently in 1999.

Votive candles at the Chapel of St. Joseph, Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie

After our fifteen minutes with Leonardo’s masterpiece, we visited the adjacent church of Santa Maria delle Grazie which suffered significant damage during World War II. We placed a couple of votive candles at the Chapel of St. Joseph for our departed loved ones.

We visited the Museum of Natural History and spent many hours looking at bugs, birds, bones and boundless beasts. Spanning three levels, it is the largest natural history museum in Italy.

Museum of Natural History – spot the dinosaur

The weather during our stay in Milan has been clear blue skies every day with temperatures ranging between 10 and 19 deg C. We’ve been rugged up with scarves, warm jackets and gloves. What a splendid change from the weather we’ve had at home recently!

It’s a happy coincidence that it has been Milan Fashion Week while we’ve been here and we’ve observed with some interest the large marquee tents located around the city spewing thumping electronic music as crowds of vicarious onlookers strain to catch a glimpse of the A-listers and the ever attendant beautiful people. I spied a lightweight cardigan in the window of one of THOSE shops with a price tag of EUR 1,390 (AUD 2,200) – not likely to be the sort of clothing purchase I’d ever consider.

Tomorrow we depart by train for Como. Arrivederci Milano!