Turin: La Venaria Reale, The Reggia and The Gardens

La Venaria Reale, The Reggia

"Who sees Turin and not Venaria, sees the mother and not the daughter" (Italian proverb).

Venaria: the Square is a fine example of Baroque architecture

Welcome in My Own Italy! If you are in Turin I suggest you to follow me in this small village, so that you can admire The Reggia.

Typical Restaurant in Venaria

 La Venaria Reale, declared part of UNESCO’s World Heritage, lies at the heart of the Circuit of Royal Residences of Piedmont and it is connected to other Royal Residences in the vicinity and to Turin’s concentric Museum District.

The elegant Savoia Knot

La Venaria Reale  was designed and built in a few years (1658 - 1679) by architect Amedeo di Castellamonte. It was commissioned by Duke Carlo Emanuele II, who wanted to make the base for hunting in hilly moorland Turin.

La Venaria Reale, The Gardens (Turin, Italy)

The gardens of the palace are completely disappeared by the French when Napoleon turned them into the parade ground: very significant work of the complex was lost forever.  

We have the designs of the era, showing the beautiful Italian garden which was divided into three terraces connected by stairways and spectacular architecture (like the clock tower of the first court) that connect them: the fountain of Hercules, the semi-circular theater and grounds.

La Venaria Reale, The Garden: The Magnificent Fountain of Hercules

The La Venaria Reale Project, promoted by the European Union and coordinated by the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage and Regione Piemonte, was the largest restoration project in Europe concerning a cultural asset.

La Venaria Reale, The Gardens

It aimed to revive the baroque splendour that inspired Duke Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy and now once again a symbol of modernity and culture. 

The Fountain

The Gardens of La Venaria Reale excel among the Italian gardens for the prospects offered by the magnificence and the magnitude of natural landscape surrounded by forests of the Park La Mandria and the mountains of the Alps.

My sons & I @ La Venaria Reale: CIAOOOOOOO!

Since its opening in 2007, La Venaria Reale has become one of Italy’s five most visited cultural sites... Enjoy!

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Turin: the first capital of Italy

Turin, with my personal Touch!

Hello, my friends!! Welcome in My Own Italy!
Today I'd like to introduce you to Turin, the first capital of Italy.

The Italian capital of the Automobile Industry: FIAT 500

I think you can travels with me through a land of extraordinary fascination, between art and history, nature and culture, sport and tradition.




Turin is also the Italian capital of the automobile industry, Fiat (Fiat SpA): one of the world's largest and famous companies in the world!

A trip through the History of Automotive

Located in the city, near the historical center, you can visit The National Automotive Museum.

The exhibition tells the story and the evolution of the motor car, as well as the social themes linked to it.


 

Its transformation from a means of transport to an object of worship, from its origins right up to the contemporary evolution of creative thought, and all this is done with spectacular displays showing off the valuable pieces in the collection.

This is me in the Sixties: the advent of utilitarian cars!

You can visit nineteen rooms telling the story of the twentieth century, taking in Futurism, the First World War, the advent of the utilitarian car, the Italian school of body work, the discovery of aerodynamics, female emancipation, the race towards mass production, the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Also, you can enjoy the American advertising slogans, examples of consumerism and ecology.!

American Advertising Slogans!

It’s a story with many different threads, the guiding principle being to make us understand how far the motor car influenced, conditioned and favoured the most distinctive historical, economic, artistic and social events of the last century.

At last, you are driven into the world of design: the creative path that precedes the production of a motor cars.

Ground Floor: The Morphing Era

Design identifies an era because it is an expression of the culture prevailing during that era.

When you finish your visit, you can admire The Piazza.

My sons and I in The Piazza, National Automotive Museum in Turin

The Piazza is an internal, covered courtyard at the centre of the Museum - the result of a transformation carried out by the architect Cino Zucchi in the complex restoration-work on the building.

This is the beating heart of the Museum and is a place for meetings and cultural exchanges!

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Borromean Islands, Lake Maggiore (Italy)

 

Isola Bella, Borromean Islands (Lake Maggiore, Italy)

Hello my friends! Welcome in My Own Italy!
Today I'd like to introduce you to a real gem in Italy: I'm talking about the Borromean Islands, in the Lake Maggiore (in the North of Italy).

Borromean Islands

The three Borromean Islands in the heart of the Gulf opposite Stresa are uniquely picturesque and eternally fascinating.

I visited the wonderful villa of Borromeo family and I was really abducted, captured by such elegance and richness!!

Borromean Villa @ Isola Bella

In 1632, Count Vitaliano Borromeo began the construction of the monumental Baroque palace and the majestic and scenic gardens, which have made the island famous and which to this day bear witness to the splendours of an era.

Tapestry Room

The Borromeo family home offers visitors an elegant and sumptuous setting, and it contains priceless works of art such as tapestries, furniture, statues, paintings, and stuccoes. It also has an unusual mosaic grotto, a cool and delightful place.  (Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore)

Outside the wonderful garden

Once you have visited the palace, there is access to the garden for a pleasant walk.....

View from the Palace with My Personal Touch!

The gardens form an extraordinary, flowered monument laid out over a series of ornate and overlapping terraces, a classic and inimitable example of seventeenth century "Italian garden". 

The Garden at Borromean Palace (Isola Bella)

The garden contains many rare and exotic plants, and the spectacular blossoming is planned to ensure that it is filled with colours and scents from March until October.

White Peacocks @ Isola Bella



You can also enjoy the beautiful white peacocks and their incredible wheel: absolutely beautiful!

I'm sure will be a fantastic journey across History and typical Italian landscape .



My sons and I @ Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore

Enjoy a unique day on Lake Maggiore!!
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Rimini: the most popular Italian Seaside!

Hi everybody, welcome in My Own Italy!

Summer is coming and I'd like to suggest you a classic itinary: Rimini, the most popular italian seaside....

But, as usual, I'll do it with my personal Touch!

Rimini Seaside with My Personal Touch

Rimini, the History of  Dolce Vita

Rimini is on the Adriatic Sea, in the center of Italy. It is the hometown of Federico Fellini, the most famous italian Film Director (wikipedia, Federico Fellini), .

Welcome @ Grand Hotel Rimini

You can also breathe the air of the Italian Dolce Vita in the historic Grand Hotel (www.grandhotelrimini.com), a masterpiece of art nouveau in the city center situated in fornt of the beach and still popular haunt of artists and actors.

Discovering Rimini

Of course, we can't forget that Rimini was an important city during the Romans Emperor, so I think you will enjoy a tour in the ancient part of the city.

Let's have a look to the Guide Map!

In the very old center you can visit Piazza Cavour, a medieval square.

Formerly called the "town square" or "fountain square"; in the Middle Ages there was the center of city life (Rimini, Piazza Cavour).

Piazza Cavour (Rimini, Italy)

Today it no longer reflects the shape of medieval, but still retains the old public fountain, around which the place of the fish and vegetable market.

On one side of the square there are coffee shops, on the other you can admire the historic buildings: Garampi building (city hall), Arengo Palace and Palace of the Podestà.

Measurement system used in the Middle Ages, Piazza Cavour

Viale Pricipe Amedeo, Rimini

Coming back to the seaside, you can walk along Viale Principe Amedeo, one of the main streets of Rimini, where you can admire ancient and aristocratic mansions.

Villa in Viale Pricipe Amedeo

Certainly a different perspective of Rimini! :-)

Of course, we can't forget that Rimini is the capital of the traditional Piadina Romagnola... so please follow me at "Where to eat" section: I'm going to introduce you to a unique gastronomic experience!

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