(did you
know that Torino was the first capital of Italy? It was.)
This is a former Fiat automobile assembly plant,
which has been turned into a shopping mall.
It’s located right next to the Olympic IBC, the
International Broadcast Centre, which is pictured below.
The IBC is normally a convention center, which is
what it will turn into again, after the Olympics pack up.
And then there’s this ramp and red arch thing out
behind the shopping center. The ramp
was under construction in mid-December; the arch is complete, but I can’t tell
you just what it’s there for. The ramp
crosses above some railroad tracks, and is approaching a pedestrian walkway
over the mall’s parking area, where this photo was taken.
Next, a few more night photographs in downtown. The street with the snowballs over it is Via
Garibaldi, a pedestrians-only street lined with shops and stores.
Below is the Royal Palace, the Palazzo Reale. The construction going on is for the
Olympics. At right they are building a stage.
This is where the Olympic Medals ceremonies will take place each night
during the games.
This is what it’s supposed to look like when
completed.
Up on the hill is the next destination on our walk
around Torino, the Monte dei Cappuccini, on the southeast side of the Po River.
The site consists of the church of Santa Maria del Monte, on the left, and the
National Museum of the Mountains, at right.
There are great views from here of Torino and beyond.
That’s the Mole Antonelliana in the center of the
picture. I took some pictures on the previous page from there, at a platform
below the spire and above the dome. The
Mole was started in 1863 as a synagogue, but by 1869 it was clear that the cost
of the work would far exceed the original
estimates, and the Jewish community backed out of the project.
Work on the Mole stopped for several years, until in
1873, the architect, Alessandro Antonelli, convinced the city to take over the
project. Now that government was
involved, the construction really slowed down, but the Mole was finally
topped off in 1889. The height of the
structure is about 500 feet, making it the tallest in Italy, and the world’s
highest building originally built in stone.
To get to the observation platform, you ride in a glass elevator which
takes you up inside the dome. The
building itself now houses a Cinema Museum.
Below, a look back at the Santa Maria del Monte
church. The circular things are blue
neon, and are lit at night.
Finally, the author nearing the end of a day of
walking, along the Po River.