Playing tour guide in Turin

Playing tour guide in Turin! On a rainy Sunday in November, a friend who didn't know Turin came to visit me, thus offering me the chance, never experienced before, to play tour guide through my city. Setting off at mid-morning, and with no ambition of fitting in visits to museums or exhibitions, we began our tour from the Fountain of the Months, situated at the southern entrance of the Parco del Valentino on the Po. This fountain, built towards the end of the 1800s, consists of a large elliptical basin adorned with twelve statues of female figures, each representing a month of the year; a foaming cascade pours into it from the upper terrace, where there are other statues symbolising Turin's 4 rivers (Po, Dora, Stura and Sangone). It absolutely deserves a visit because it's beautiful and will hold your attention for a long time.

Moving away from the fountain, we went down along the cycle path that runs alongside the Po for kilometres, a usual destination for runners and bikers at all hours and in every season of the year. It's worth walking at least a stretch of it, and especially in this autumn season, where with the variety of colours of the leaves it gives its best in terms of atmosphere. A visit to the Medieval Village could not be missed; although it is a reproduction of an ancient fortress, it has a certain charm, particularly when there are few people. Once the tour was over, we got back in the car and moved further on, to the other bank of the Po; after parking we reached the Monte dei Cappuccini on foot in a few minutes to admire the view of the city in the mist.

Here stands the Baroque church of Santa Maria al Monte, and a convent of Capuchin friars; according to some writings, in 1600 during a French siege a miracle that occurred inside the church prevented the invaders from taking possession of the hill. We then went back down and, after a stop to drink a coffee, we crossed the bridge and reached the Murazzi area. Here we admired one of the most beautiful views of Turin, which in one glance embraces the Michelotti dam (recently restored), the Gran Madre di Dio church and, in the background, the Monte dei Cappuccini. The waterfall created by the dam is always home to gulls, cormorants and sometimes a heron; its roar soothes the thoughts and encourages deep meditation. The itinerary then continued passing through the main streets of the centre. See you next time!