A Sense of Faded Grandeur Once Cast a Pall Over Turin, but After a Facelift
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
torino A sense of faded grandeur once cast a pall over Turin, but after a facelift and an infusion of creativity the former Italian capital exudes dynamism, writes John Irving, and could just be the country’s best-kept secret. PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR KNIGHT WATCH The Palazzo Reale, with gilded wooden ceilings and intarsia floors, was the Royal Palace of Turin. Opposite: the Church of Santa Maria on the Monte dei Cappuccini overlooking the River Po. GT1503p146-153_Turin_v6.0 146-147 10/02/2015 9:35:57 AM Like many other Torinesi, the late Carlo Fruttero, a novelist and journalist, had a self- Ldeprecating sense of humour. “Why come to Turin?” he would ask me, tongue-in-cheek. “There’s no Colosseum or Uffizi for you here! No Grand Canal or Pompeii!” He liked to belittle what he perceived as his native city’s lack of attractions and exalt those of “the real Italy” but, deep down, he was proud of its diversity. For, artistically, architecturally and culturally, Turin really is unlike anywhere else in the country. To begin with, it was virtually untouched by the Renaissance. Until 1562, when Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, moved his court here from Chambéry, Turin had been a provincial fortified town. A series of urban-planning schemes was undertaken to add lustre made it get its act together. Buildings and roads were to the place. In 1682, Duke Carlo Emanuele II embarked given a facelift and many of the riches that were long on the equivalent of a modern-day marketing campaign locked away are back on display. when he commissioned the Theatrum Sabaudiae, Most of the royal palaces in the city centre stand a catalogue of illustrations of the architectural marvels on or around the scenographic Piazza Castello. On the About a kilometre away, the sedate Castello del of his small duchy, for circulation among the courts of north side, Palazzo Reale di Torino has an austere Valentino stands amid the greenery on the banks of Europe. Two decades later, the Treaty of The Hague white 16th-century façade, designed by Amedeo di the Po. It was refurbished in the early 17th century handed the Savoys the piecemeal kingdom of Castellamonte, but inside it is ablaze with decoration: as a maison de plaisance by Christine Marie, wife of Piedmont-Savoy-Nice and Sardinia on a plate. gilded wooden ceilings, intarsia floors, tapestries, Vittorio Amedeo I of Savoy and daughter of Henry IV More building mania followed as the new royal paintings, carpets, weapons, porcelain and ornamental of France, and looks more like a château on the Loire. family called in some of the greatest architects, artists clocks. It was at once the main court residence and the On the hillside over the river, with its fountains and and gardeners in Europe to turn Turin into a great hub of Savoy power. Adjoining it are the chapel in cascades, Villa della Regina is reminiscent of the cosmopolitan capital. In 1861, in the wake of the which the Holy Shroud is kept, the Royal Armoury 18th-century villas of Tivoli and Frascati near Rome. confused events of the Risorgimento, an all-Italian and the Royal Library, which houses Leonardo da All within walking distance of each another, the city parliament was summoned to Turin and voted for Vinci’s famous self-portrait in red chalk. The gardens palaces have wonderful charm and variety. But even the creation of the Kingdom of Italy with the city as to the rear were the handiwork of André Le Nôtre of more spectacular are the jewels in the so-called “corona national capital. And so it remained until 1865, when Versailles fame. Versailles also provided the influence delle delizie”, or “crown of delights”, a circle of royal the baton was passed first to Florence, then to Rome. for the façade of Palazzo Madama, designed by the residences in the countryside round Turin that was An inventory at the time listed 22 royal palaces court architect, the Sicilian Filippo Juvarra. Slap-bang declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Most in Turin and environs. Beyond all human need, one in the middle of Piazza Castello, this bizarre building are easily reachable in half an hour or so by car thanks might say. Visiting in 1856, the English traveller Bayle synthesises two thousand years of history: erected on to a radial network of straight boulevards, originally St John noted: “Turin has been swelled out to suit the site of a gateway to the original Roman castrum, designed as part of the 17th-century master plan. the convenience of a new royalty. It disappoints the it is part medieval castle and part Baroque residence. One such leads southwards to the monumental stranger… because of its audacious air of pretension.” It now houses the Museo Civico d’Arte Antica, where Palazzina di Caccia of Stupinigi, again designed by What he perceived as overblown display evokes wonder the collection includes Portrait of a Man, a late Juvarra. The sight of the palace’s sweeping white façade for today’s tourist. For Turin is a city of long, tree-lined masterpiece by Antonello da Messina, another Sicilian. as it comes into view among the trees is unforgettable. avenues and Baroque magnificence – a city fit for kings. A short distance away, Palazzo Carignano, which I remember the astonishment on my sister’s face when When I first came to live here in the late 1970s, now houses the Museo del Risorgimento, was the seat she first came to visit. “I never imagined!” she gasped. Turin gave off a sense of lost grandeur. A new dynasty of Italy’s first parliament. Prime minister Camillo Floating in the air atop the central cupola and visible for reigned – the Agnellis, rulers of the Fiat empire – and Cavour used to dine at the Ristorante del Cambio just miles around, the statue of a huge bronze stag by the the place was living up to its reputation as the “Detroit opposite. A bronze plaque surmounts his favourite table sculptor Francesco Ladatte (actually a copy, the original HUNTING of Italy”. Those were years of political terrorism and where, more often than not, he would order roast veal being on display at the ticket office) reminds one of GROUND industrial unrest. The art and architectural heritage with cubes of fried semolina. He also gave his name to a the palace’s original function as a hunting lodge. The Above, from left: the was either indifferently managed or neglected – if risotto made with Barolo that is still on the menu. Savoys loved the chase and the myth of Diana the Palazzina di Caccia of CITY OF KINGS Stupinigi, the royal Turin could be likened to a Cinquecento, its treasures Through the royal court Turin developed a taste for huntress is a leitmotif of tapestries, frescoes and View of Turin. Clockwise hunting lodge, adorned from top: the town of definitely took a back seat. refined cooking and food presentation. At Ristorante paintings throughout. Occasionally the palace stages with a bronze stag; the Venaria Reale; Matteo Since then heavy industry has given way to del Cambio, chef Matteo Baronetto keeps tradition alive exhibitions and, such is the size of place from one end River Po; Ristorante del Baronetto, chef at creativity and design; today the city exudes dynamism. with classics such as agnolotti alla Piemontese, and to the other, you might need a hunter to visit them. Cambio, a favourite of Ristorante del Cambio; The hosting of events such as the 1990 FIFA World finanziera, a concoction of calf’s sweetbreads, brains, Inaugurated in 1731, the palace was the royal family’s Camillo Cavour, Italy’s carne cruda con first prime minister. salsiccia e midollo Cup, the 2006 Winter Olympics and celebrations for bone marrow, cock’s combs and pickled mushrooms, favourite summer residence until the 1930s. It used to from del Cambio. the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy in 2011 an old-fashioned dish that’s now making a comeback. host balls, concerts, banquets and parties to salute the> 148 GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU 149 GT1503p146-153_Turin_v6.0 148-149 10/02/2015 9:37:02 AM PALACE king before and after the hunt. Napoleon used Stupinigi REVOLUTION as a country house when he came to Piedmont and his Clockwise, from above: carriage is one of the exhibits in the adjoining Furniture Piazza dell’Annunziata, Museum. His sister Paolina briefly lived in the palace, Venaria Reale; Houseball (1985) by Claes Oldenburg too, and King Vittorio Emanuele II was married here in Polytechnic. He owes part of his fame to experimental and Coosje van Bruggen 1842. It is a fairytale place and in 2012 it provided the dishes such as zuppizza, a deconstructed pizza in Rivoli Castle’s Museum perfect setting for an Italian TV adaptation of Rossini’s Napoletana consisting of a confit tomato and an of Contemporary Art; Cenerentola. At the front, it is preceded by a semicircle anchovy on a croûton served with a mozzarella cream Basilica of Superga; of 18th-century royal farmhouses and stables; to the soup; cyber-eggs, egg yolk and caviar wrapped in Castello del Valentino; armoury detail in Palazzo rear are fine gardens and the Stupinigi Natural Park, edible film; and Combal space lasagne, specially Reale; street life in Turin; which you can visit by bike. designed for a NASA mission. But he also offers his the Reggia di Venaria. Westwards, the imposing Rivoli Castle looms over own take on tradition with delicious quail and tripe the eponymous town at the mouth of the Susa Valley.