Turin – penultimate day.

Less activity today. In a little minibus this morning out to another dinky ducal hunting lodge – Venaria Reale. I’ll have to do some posthumous revision on the House of Savoy when I get home. This one is not in such good condition as some of the others as it was seized and turned into a barracks by Napoleon and continued to be used by the army until the end of the Second World War. It then stood empty until the 1970s and they only finished the restoration in 2007.

Venaria Reale with the Alps in the background.
Mirrored display of the rulers of the House of Savoy in the old orangery. Apparently, when one of the rulers went to meet Queen Victoria, he was upset that she would not give way to him as his dynasty was older than hers.
It was a lovely day.
The Galleria.
Gardens
The chapel. The present pretender to the throne of Italy got married here a few years ago which caused a furore.
The royal Bucintore. Used on the lake at this palace but had to be hauled back up the Po by hand – against the flow of the river – when it was needed elsewhere.
Royal carriage in the old stables.
Despite appearances, it was very busy. Today is a bank holiday in Italy.
More topiary
View with odd fountain.

We then went back to Turin and had the afternoon free. Because of the bank holiday and the weather, it was difficult to get into things. I had lunch, mooched about, debated whether to stand in a queue for another gallery but decided not to, looked in some posh shops and went back to the hotel for a nap.

Lunch – participating in local culture don’t you know.
Some stereotypes just sell themselves.
Turin square.
Gate and wall from the Roman city.
Bicerin. Local specialty- espresso, chocolate and cream.

Tonight we go out for our final dinner. I don’t think (looking at the menu) I will be bothering with photos.

One thought on “Turin – penultimate day.”

  1. In a way, having the rooms and garden more stripped back, you get more of a chance to see the shapes and lines – love the garden and the view. Glad you were able to see it on a sunny day. You don’t think the beautiful young man was selling, do you? If those trousers were any tighter they’d do him a mischief, but the loafers are beautifully polished…

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