Some of my American readers may know the name Superga for the athletic shoes (the brand founded in 1911), others may know it as the hill on the south side of the Po that reaches about 2300 feet above the valley of the River Po and the town of Turin below. The hill also has other significance too -- tombs of the former ruling House of Savoy, the Basilica, and for an air disaster when a plane crashed into the hill in 1949 taking the lives of nearly all of the Torino AC football team! At any rate, it is linked from the valley floor to the top by a "rack" railway system -- kind of like a gear-driven mini-train...not quite a funicular from the suburb of Sassi.
So our first little adventure was getting to Sassi. Google Maps was particularly helpful -- it did tell me the number of the bus (61) , the direction and the stop (Vittorio Emmanuel II). Getting tickets on Pasquetta on the other hand is a bit of a challenge. Tobbacconists are closed and you can't buy on the busses. I thought I'd try the parking meter route that I'd learned about last week. As it turns out, there are two different sorts of parking meters--one with a language button to switch to English, and another that makes you guess if you are purchasing parking time or a bus ticket kind of like a lottery!
Eventually we did succeed in purchasing tickets and going the wrong direction on the bus (fortunately the end of the line isn't far from our house). Fortunately, the driver break at the end of the line before turning around was perfect timing for us to make sure we had the right tickets and re-board. There were two drivers, a man at the wheel and a woman who seemed to be getting off duty. After a little back and forth and lessons in which syllables to emphasize in Italian (say su-PEAR-ga not SUPER-ga), we had a friendly trip as the drivers asked us what we'd seen. It felt good that we communicated Mole Antonelliana, Parco del Lorenzo, Lingotto and Borgo Mediavale. They seemed genuinely pleased that we had seen and enjoyed these sites. Once again, unlike many other cities I've visited around the globe, the Torinese are very friendly and, well, the only way I can describe it right now is "gentle." Almost without fail, everyone we've approached for help or to ask a question has been unable to communicate in English, but is happy to help until we have our questions answered!
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| Railway from Sassi to Superga. |
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| Julie on the Sassi-Superga "Rack" railway. |
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| Sean on the Sassi-Superga "Rack" railway. |
The Basilica of Superga was beautiful (and had a steady flow of tourists). Indeed, we've seen so many gorgeous cathedrals and basilicas and I keep trying to force myself to admire and pay attention to every uniqueness. In this case, I'm struck not just by the physical beauty inside and out and the commanding view over the Po valley and Turin, but also the historical context of its establishment. Firstly, it is a monument to the Italian victory over the French in the Battle of Turin in 1706 (tactical decisions were made from vantage of Superga) and to the largesse of the House of Savoy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turin
A surprise inside was the existence (and seemingly tacit allowance) of graffiti! I took some pictures of a few examples. As I waited in line I watched a woman take her pen to the wall and scribe something! This to me seemed absolutely bizarre! Now I want to know if this is common (and if so where else I've missed this practice) OR if it's unique to this place!
In the tower on the climb to the rooftop observation deck we saw some graffiti preserved from the 1740s (the basilica was completed in 1731)--which actually made graffiti seem pretty cool :).
Well...time to put the little one to bed! Enjoy the photos of the day!
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| One of many commanding views of the Po Valley from the Basilica at Superga. |
Sounds like fun. =P
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